The possibility of a 2015 global recession seemed months away. Minutes after the previous post comes news from Russia. A summary:
- Falling oil prices
- Threat of Western sanctions because of Ukraine
- GDP growth in 2015 ~ 0%
- GDP growth in 2016 ~ 0.1%
- Inflation ~ 8%
- Base interest rate ~ 9.5%
- Central bank reserves decreased from $510B down to $400M (one-one thousandth of what they were)
Revenues are down, inflation and interest greater than growth, and there’s little left in the bank. If that was happening to you, you’d get very frugal and find help. What will a country like Russia do?
“Russia’s Ruble Dives …” – CBC News
Pretending Not To Panic 