Posted on 12/15/2014 6:42:15 AM PST by elhombrelibre
Moscow (CNN) -- Russia looks richer in the snow. Muscovites, as they always have, stroll the main boulevard, Tverskaya Street, in their fur coats and hats on snowy evenings, basking in the holiday lights and decorations, their capital transformed into an icy wonderland.
Moscow's coffee shops are full of young Russians still willing to pay 300 to 400 rubles for a latte. But the foreign currency exchange shops I pass are an ominous sign. Just a few weeks ago, 300 rubles was worth about $10. Now, it's about half that.
Thursday, I exchange dollars for rubles and get a rate of 54.20. By Saturday it's 57 rubles to the dollar.
Consumer prices are up about 8% from a year ago. Inflation is growing at its fastest pace in three years. In the food store where I used to shop, I search in vain for my favorite imported cheese. It's fallen victim to Russia's ban on dairy, meat, fruit, poultry, fish and other products imported from the West -- Moscow's retaliation for U.S. and European economic sanctions over its actions in Ukraine.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The oil flowing out of the ground in the United States is like blood flowing out of Russian veins. The more we pump, the more the Russian economy dies.
Fear not, Obama is very anti energy independence for the US. It hurts his cronies in the middle east and reduces his flexibility with Putin. Obama would do nothing to help this country move forward.
Your forgot the /s.
Obama helping the oil industry and hurting Russia, that is really funny.
Pray America is waking
.......hmmmm......reading this article I could not help but see the many ironies between the American People and the Russian People respecting their governments and particularly the last sentence!
To be sure, we share the “what’s it gonna take to make it crack” comment and “we don’t want a bloody revolution” remark.
The point about “lots of patience” is a “not so much” re the American People.
Could Russian economic turmoil lead to Putin’s downfall?
Could Russian economic turmoil lead to war?
The latter is much more likely.
I think you are ascribing much more power to the US (Obama) to do this than it actually has.
Crude oil is a world market, and Obama has done everything he could to make fossil fuels more expensive, not less. It's all happening because:
1-The strength of the US dollar, because as bad as our economy is, it is better relative to other nations. Strong dollar means it takes less of them to buy a commodity.
2-US domestic oil extraction is booming because of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling tech advances. More supply. Lots more. We can thank private property laws, Obama simply can't do anything about it. Yet.
3-Other countries affected by the low prices are pumping all they can to balance budget.
Crashing Oil Prices Will Be Terrible ONLY For A Tiny Part Of The US Economy
http://www.businessinsider.com/energy-investment-a-small-share-of-gdp-2014-12
First I've heard of this.
I remember so well the gleeful MSM articles - of a few years ago - announcing each new milepost on the U.S. dollar's downward spiral.
I should have guessed why they've disappeared.
A cornered rat is very dangerous. To follow your line of thinking, Putin may decide that provoking an incident with the U.S. might be beneficial to him. If he’s going to do something like that, it will likely be in 2015 IMO to take advantage of Obama’s weakness. Can anyone imagine Obama responding decisively against any such aggression? If Putin gets away with it, he boosts his own standing as a force to reckon with. And the world still respects power.
Not rooting for Putin, just looking at options from his perspective.
The good news is the Opecker Princes, South America Opeckers and Putin are getting kicked below the belt each day, when the price of oil drops again and again.
The Russian Ruble is getting stomped like a wounded snake on the ground
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The dollar rose to new record highs against the ruble Monday, as falling oil prices were compounded by fears that some of Russia’s largest companies could default on their dollar-denominated debts.
In recent trade, the dollar rose to 60.5983 rubles RUBUSD, -6.58% — its highest level ever — as the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil for January delivery sunk below $58 a barrel Friday. The dollar was worth 58 rubles Friday.
Remember not 10 years ago, all the big accounting/consulting firms were all saying, “You have to be in the BRIC countries, or you won’t make it?”
Only India is worth investing in, and only because they overthrew the liberal idiots grinding the economy down and replaced them with free market types.
“I remember so well the gleeful MSM articles - of a few years ago - announcing each new milepost on the U.S. dollar’s downward spiral.
I should have guessed why they’ve disappeared.”
Excellent point. Reminds us of how the Euro Trash’s Euro was proclaimed by the rat’s MSM as the wonder currency.
“The economy will tank, Stepanov predicted, “and this will elicit mass dissatisfaction among the public. That will activate political battles, and that will lead to a peaceful change of power.”—
If I were to use “Putin” and “peaceful” in the same sentence...
I believe you’re misdirected your comment to me, FRiend.
I agree. I also wonder if we shouldn’t be buying more for our own strategic reserve and to keep our own production viable, the destruction of which is the third goal of the Saudis.
No, it’s 64.2467074. I saw a site that said it was 30 rubles to the dollar in 2010. It’s going to get worse for Putin and the people living in Putinistan.
Destitute Pensioners of putlers ‘’Novarussia’’have taken
the administration building of the DNR by force, out
of protest against the absence of any proper priorities.
IE, where is their pension payments The “revolution”
enters its new phase, starts eating its own children.
All according to rules of history....
The trolls and putler think putlerstan is so great,
but it can’t evenpay pensions in its ‘’new russia’’ !!!!!
http://nr2.com.ua/News/Kiev_an...aciyu-DNR-86707.html
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