Unexpectedly, Russia’s Central Bank cut its interest rate by two points, citing a lower risk for inflation given the impending recession and low growth rates. The ruble weakened again against the dollar after the announcement to 72, its lowest level since December. Western economists cited their surprise at this development, and expressed concern that the…
As the price of oil drops and Kazakh government revenues shrink, the government has begun a more stringent evaluation of its energy sector. It was announced yesterday that oil treatment facilities and refineries that work with Russian gasoline suppliers will need to be closed due to low or even negative profit margins. Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister…
The most underdeveloped economies of Central Asia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, both have relied heavily on Chinese investment but throughout 2014 Chinese FDI throughout Kyrgyzstan has dropped some 35%. The main influencing factors have been the decision to join the EEU and the constantly changing political leadership in Bishkek. Although some good news has come out…
Russia’s Central Bank has announced it will use credit ratings of lenders before March 1 of last year (2014) in determining its capital requirements, artificially easing pressure on debt ridden Russian companies struggling for refinancing. Without access to Western capital markets, companies have either been forced to accept egregiously high interest rates from non-Western banks,…
In December, we had the chance to talk with Eric Lorber, an attorney based in Washington, DC at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP who assists multinational companies in compliance with US economic sanctions. He was formerly a member of the Iran Sanctions Team at the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime (OFAC) in the…
Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic claim to have captured the Donetsk city airport, although officials in Kiev deny these reports. If true, the claim would signal the first significant territorial advance by the rebels since signing the cease-fire pact. The pact has mostly been considered a nominal one, with near-daily violations…
Political gridlock in Afghanistan began to ease on Monday, as President Ashraf Ghani at last released a list of cabinet nominees after a quarter of a year in office. The piecemeal government formed from the coalitions of Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani began with fanfare but was slowly mired in disagreements over government formation and which…
The 114th US Congress convened for the first time last week, casting a new series of doubts on the potential for an Iranian nuclear deal. Republicans have come under control of both houses of Congress, and the tough-on-Iran, (mostly) pro-Israel group of representatives have started eyeing fresh rounds of sanctions should the talks fail and…
Yields on Russian government debt bonds have soared on the expectation that credit ratings agencies will reduce the rating to junk. The ruble, on further news that oil has reached $50 a barrel, has tumbled once again. This morning, as Brent trades above $50, the ruble has begun another tepid ascent in value. Standard &…
Talks on peace and de-escalation appear to be in progress between Kiev, Separatists, Russia, and the EU. Foreign Ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France will speak over the phone on January 9 as the first step in a collaborative effort to stop violence in eastern Ukraine and reach a political solution. The phone conference…
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