Russian economy grinding to a halt as Ukraine crisis takes heavy toll

Discussion in 'General Trading Discussion' started by admin, Mar 24, 2014.

  1. admin

    admin Administrator Staff Member

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    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's economy is barely growing, inflation is rising fast, and capital is pouring out of the country, the Economy Ministry said on Monday, a sign that international tensions around Ukraine are already inflicting severe economic costs.
    In February Russia's gross domestic product eked out growth of just 0.3 percent year-on-year, down from 0.7 percent in January, Russia's Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said.

    Last year the economy grew by just 1.3 percent, far below initial forecasts, but there had been hopes that growth would rebound this year. Instead Russia's economic performance is deteriorating further as the international tensions around Ukraine lead capital to flee Russia.

    Klepach said that when seasonal and calendar factors are taken into account, February's 0.3 percent was "not bad" and "better than expected."
    But he added that "it's too soon to talk about a turn-around in economic trends, about a recovery from stagnation."

    He said that the ministry anticipates GDP growth of "around zero" for the first quarter as a whole. That would make its 2.5 percent growth forecast for 2014 challenging.

    "There won't be a recession, but there is a problem of stagnation: it's length and depth. Unfortunately the investment slump is continuing. I'm not ready to say how long it will continue," Klepach said.

    http://news.yahoo.com/russian-econo...e-crisis-takes-heavy-162649133--business.html
     
  2. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    It's obvious that Russia just once again confirmed how little it cares about what others think, which is obviously not a great thing for people/companies investing into Russia. The ruble has gone down a lot recently, even before this Ukrainian crisis, which might help their exports a little. But the country itself seems to be falling into an economic oblivion once again.

    I remember how optimistic everyone was about Russia a few years ago. I got my hands on some ETFs investing there since the potential profits seemed good. I sold all my Russia ETFs in early February, with more or less 0 profit. Good timing though, now they would be worth a lot less.
     
  3. HeinrichM

    HeinrichM Active Member

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    Putin seems to be hell bent on showing the world that he can do whatever he wants. The impact of the Ukrainian crisis will definitely put pressure on the Russian economy. Unluckily for Russia it has not recovered fully from the financial crisis yet and the economy is not strong enough to withstand the international pressure that is being exerted currently. Should be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of months.
     
  4. Stacked

    Stacked Active Member

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    More sanctions coming..... Russia needs to get the hell out of Ukraine.
     
  5. JadeDoo

    JadeDoo Well-Known Member

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    Russia is like the Honey Badger. It don't care.
     
  6. PvtParts

    PvtParts Guest

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    Putin's being a tremendous piece of crap these days. Him and Kim Jong-Un could probably kick it together. And now, Russia's looking at a recession because of this action with Ukraine. Who knows what his motives and long-term goals are for Ukraine and Crimea though?
     
  7. wanderingwildman

    wanderingwildman Well-Known Member

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    Putin is completely ruthless in not letting what others think distract him. I admired him when he confronted Obama about the Middle East. But, now he looks like he is deliberately tanking an entire nation's economy.
     
  8. JadeDoo

    JadeDoo Well-Known Member

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    Unlike China, Putin doesn't seem to care too much about Russia's economics like you said. He's winning the political chess game but the trade off of is Russia's economy. I will say that I think the issue in Crimea is probably more complicated than how the dumbed down media is representing it though.
     
  9. wanderingwildman

    wanderingwildman Well-Known Member

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    Good point Jade Doo.. Those badger videos are so funny. That makes me want to check them out again.
     
  10. waseem59

    waseem59 Well-Known Member

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    Putin is just confused about what to take decisions on ukraine, he is unable to find a better solution for it
     

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