ruble

Counter-sanctions imposed on food imports and an unprecedented raft of subsidies have made many areas of farming more profitable in Russia [Xinhua]
Consumer demand has driven economic growth in Russia, the Central Bank said on Friday, adding that GDP growth in the first six months should reach between 1.0 and 1.5 per cent.
This is slightly lower than an earlier forecast.
It also cited “further recovery of production activity” and near-record low inflationary expectations.

A Russian Parliament member has introduced a draft bill to create a national cryptocurrency called “the CryptoRuble.”
Legislation to regulate the mining and trading of cryptocurrencies is currently under consideration by the Russian Parliament, but that has not slowed down the creation of a cryptocurrency for legal tender.

“The amendments proposed by the draft law…codify the digital financial asset as a legal means of payment on the territory of Russia,” the document’s explanatory note reads.

Happy New Year! May yours be peaceful, safe and impactful!
As tumultuous as last year was from a global political perspective on the back of a rocky start market-wise, 2017 will be much more so. The central bank subsidization of the financial system (especially in the US and Europe) that began with the Fed invoking zero interest rate policy in 2008, gave way to international distrust of the enabling status quo that unfolded in different ways across the planet. My prognosis is for more destabilization, financially and politically.  In other words, the world's a mess.

The currencies of three BRICS economies have steadily strengthened against the US dollar in recent weeks.
Brazil’s real, Russia’s ruble and South Africa’s rand have benefited from a ‘pause’ in the momentum to raise interest rates, particularly in the US.
All three countries have battled recession in contrast to BRICS members China and India, which are forecast to grow 6.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively, in 2016.
The rand is up nearly 15 per cent against the dollar in 2016 after suffering a significant slump in mid-2015.

The sudden dramatic collapse in the price of oil appears to be an act of geopolitical warfare against Russia. The result could be trillions of dollars in oil derivative losses; and the FDIC could be liable, following repeal of key portions of the Dodd-Frank Act last weekend.

A dangerous new trend is the successful manipulation of the financial markets by the Federal Reserve, other central banks, private banks, and the US Treasury. The Federal Reserve reduced real interest rates on US government debt obligations first to zero and then pushed real interest rates into negative territory. Today the government charges you for the privilege of purchasing its bonds.