Free Republic

Russian shares suffered their steepest one-day fall in more than a decade on Tuesday, losing up to 20 per cent, as a sharp slide in oil prices and difficult money market conditions triggered a rush to sell. The heads of the Russian central bank, the finance ministry and the financial market regulator met on Tuesday night for an emergency discussion on ways to halt the crisis. Earlier, trading had been suspended on both the Micex and RTS stock exchanges as investors ignored assurances by Russian officials and a cycle of distrust set in amid liquidity fears. Margin calls forced domestic...

Russia authorities halted trading on the country’s stock exchange on Tuesday after it plunged 17 per cent in a broad-based sell-off. At 1700 local time, the rouble-denominated Micex index had fallen 17.5 per cent to 881.17 and the RTS index dropped 12 per cent to 1,131.120 as the falling oil price, margin calls on local investors and a broader sell-off in emerging markets stocks drove shares down. “This is a good old-fashioned panic”, said Steven Dashevsky, head of research at Unicredit in Moscow. “It doesn’t feel like there is anyone domestically that can put the brakes on.” Oil stocks tracked...

A list and way to track number of economic issues and problems associated with Russia and its financial system: Main Google news search including "RTS" Russia Becomes Worst 3rd-Quarter Stock Market on Oil (Update3) - Bloomberg - good read! Investment Week, UK... a near 30% decline in the RTS index in recent months Lukoil cuts sale price of diesel, jet fuel, fuel oil in August - from Polish source Europe Grapples with Russia-Georgia Woes"With energy supplies at risk, the recent conflict in the Caspian region might spur the West to seek other gas and oil sources""The very fact of the...

The Georgia Invasion: In contrast with the West's otherwise tepid response to Moscow's new nationalism, one group has taken a tough stance — investors, who are leading the march out of Russia's markets.On Friday, Russia's central bank announced that its foreign currency reserves — a key part of its economic stability and an indicator of foreign investor support — had plunged $16.4 billion in the most recent week, to $581.1 billion (see chart). Until Russia's move into Georgia, there seemingly had been only massive capital inflows, thanks mainly to the rising price of oil, which makes up 20% of Russia's...