Kazakhstan’s currency, the tenge, has the ignominious honor being the world’s most volatile currency this year after the free-float shift in August caused a record devaluation of some 23%. The governor of the Central Bank, Kairat Kelimbetov, has struggled to keep the value relatively stable since the devaluation, using the overnight repurchase rate as a…
The Reserve Bank of India cut its policy interest rate to a new low yesterday, a larger than expected move, in a bid to turn the economy around and promote growth. The RBI has been in a race with China to cut its rates pre-emptively, and to keep its rates low while US federal funds…
George Osborne, Britain’s Secretary of State and Chancellor Exchequer, made several announcements on investment in Iran and Xinjiang region of China. Osborne pledged to lead a trade delegation to Iran next year if the Islamic Republic honors its nuclear deal in the wake of its embassy reopening. Additionally, Osborne on Tuesday embarked on a trade…
Iranian citizens are refusing to spend much money these days, in anticipation of imminent sanctions relief that will spur a decrease in domestic prices. Ironically, this is the opposite effect on the economy that everyone had anticipated for Iran, at least in the short term. In particular, the automotive sector has seen far less purchasing…
Opposition party candidates, hoping to finally secure seats in the Russian Duma later next month, were met with complete failure after regional elections showed that the ruling United Russia party won every regional poll across the country. Other mainstream Russian parties like the Communist party, Liberal Democratic Party, and a Just Russia also made a…
Kazakhstan’s Central Bank just sold another $144 million in dollars from its reserves attempting to stabilize the tenge, blaming the 1.2% daily decline on the actions of “speculators.” Central Bank governor Kairat Kelimbetov allowed on August 20 of last month for the currency to float freely after the Chinese Central Bank allowed the yuan to…
Foreign Ministers from Germany, France, Russia, and Ukraine agreed on Saturday on steps to bring more stability to war-torn eastern Ukraine. Specifically, the provision to remove heavy weapons from the front lines has been discussed, with German FM Steinmeier stating that “I can tell you with relief that our meeting today has been one of…
Turkmenistan has long been known for its rich energy reserves and as a result, has maintained the popularity of its various despotic regimes by providing free public utilities to its citizenry. The government announced today that it will scrap the free provision of electricity, household gas, and water as the economy shows signs of reduced…
Russia has rejected a deal with OPEC to curb oil outputs, even after prices hit their new lows last week – Deputy Prime Minister Dvorachek and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said. Speculation that some kind of deal would occur has caused oil futures to rise somewhat on the hope. Apparently OPEC proposed that Russia become…
Some eight policemen and two assailants have been killed in separate attacks around Dushanbe today, in what is being described as a terrorist attack. This has prompted the US Embassy to close and has sparked fears that this is the beginning of larger scale civil unrest. President Emmomali Rahmon responded to the crisis by abruptly…
STEPPE DISPATCHES 