Regarding Putin: “Every state has its mafia. In Russia, the mafia has its state.” (Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion and current Russian dissident.)
Regarding Russian Leaders Historically: “Dealing with a government with whom mendacity is a science is an extremely difficult and delicate matter.” (Secretary of State John Hay, complaining to Theodor Roosevelt after Russia’s March 1900 invasion of Manchuria).
Regarding Russian debt miraculously avoiding default last week: “It is difficult to fathom the psyche of a person who dismisses the territorial integrity of independent states and brutally targets civilians, while appearing at the same time obsessively concerned about being viewed as financially fastidious.” (Judy Shelton, in today’s Wall Street Journal.)
Regarding the Russian “chervonet”
The Rodney Dangerfield of Currency, this coin was marked to a gold standard, and therefore recognized globally until the Soviets issued it with communist markings in the 1920’s, at which time it was shunned. (The free world had just bailed out a deadly Soviet famine.) It was then re-issued with (arguably) less poisonous Tsarist markings and granted wider acceptance
This 2022 Russian Stock Market Chart looks a bit like a heart monitor.
The flat-line represents the closure over the past few weeks as Russian regulators hoped to stem the impact of becoming the world’s least-tolerated dictatorship.
Defibrillation comes next
This 2022 Russian Stock Market Chart looks a bit like a heart monitor.
The flat-line represents the closure over the past few weeks as Russian regulators hoped to stem the impact of becoming the world’s least-tolerated dictatorship.
Defibrillation comes next
The S&P 500’s year so far. As markets absorb the war, inflation, and higher rates, JP Morgan expects the S&P 500 to finish the year at 4,900, recapturing most of, but not growing in excess of the year’s starting spot
Our Weekly wrap:
- Many moving parts – The early 2024 drop in equity valuations suggests there’s now a larger cushion against near-term risks, but war and inflation keep the heat on. We examine portfolio positioning implications for both equities and fixed income.
- Fed hawkishness– U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell raised the possibility of the first half-point hike since early 2000. We look at how commodity prices and rising inflation expectations are impacting the Fed.
- Regional highlights: Political power-sharing deal struck in Canada; UK’s modest stimulus keeps powder dry for pre-election tax cut; China ADRs rebounding.
Our Full Report Here: Global Insight Weekly
Enjoy your weekend. If you’re like me, occasionally it seems best to turn off the news and go out for a walk, or a ride, or have a chat with the neighborhood squirrel.
Mark