March 16, 2022
BUT VLAD IS SO MACHO!:
Dollars or Rubles? Russian Debt Payments Are Due, and Uncertain. (Eshe Nelson, Alan Rappeport and Lauren Hirsch, March 15, 2022, NY Times)
Russia is teetering on the edge of a possible sovereign debt default, and the first sign could come as soon as Wednesday.The Russian government owes about $40 billion in debt denominated in U.S. dollars and euros, and half of those bonds are owned by foreign investors. And Russian corporations have racked up approximately $100 billion in foreign currency debt, JPMorgan estimates.On Wednesday, $117 million in interest payments on dollar-denominated government debt are due.But Russia is increasingly isolated from global financial markets, and investors are losing hope that they will see their money. As the government strives to protect what's left of its access to foreign currency, it has suggested it would pay its dollar- or euro-denominated debt obligations in rubles instead. That has prompted credit rating agencies to warn of an imminent default.
There's nothing more comical than folks who believe History didn't End.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 16, 2022 12:00 AM