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Russia's new 100 rouble banknote is impossible to withdraw from ATMs after Western firms that program cash machine quit the country following Ukraine invasion The Association of Russian Banks has asked for a six-month delay to rolling out the new 100 Rouble banknote as a new security feature is needed The Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier, a memorial to one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War, is featured on the note to fuel patriotism The Western companies which install and update ATMs have pulled out of Russia Russia’s new 100 rouble banknotes are impossible to withdraw...

In China, companies, banks, and individuals cannot freely move money into or out of the country unless they comply with strict foreign exchange (forex) rules. The Chinese communist party (CCP) has been imposing “zero tolerance” controls to limit foreign exchange trading done in a private or surreptitious manner. But despite the CCP’s best efforts, the massive outflow of Chinese capital to other countries is continuing and the speed has recently accelerated. One example of the CCP’s crackdown efforts involves the Tianjin-based Quanjian Group. Quanjian was fined $14.6 million for its foreign trading by the Anhui Branch of China’s State Administration...

The US and its allies have slapped a grand total of over 9,600 sanctions against Russian officials, the state, companies, tycoons and other entities in connection with the crisis in Ukraine. Moscow now has more restrictions against it than Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela and Myanmar combined. Russia has successfully withstood unprecedented sanctions pressure from the West, President Vladimir Putin has said. "The calculation was to quickly undermine the financial and economic situation in our country, to provoke panic in the markets, the collapse of the banking system, and a large-scale shortage of goods in stores," Putin said, speaking at...

Russia paid roubles on dollar bonds Bonds had no provision for rouble payments - Moody's Russia defaulted on foreign bonds after 1917 revolution Russia's economy facing worst year since 1994 LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) - Moody's said Russia may be in default because it tried to service its dollar bonds in roubles, which would be one of the starkest consequences to date of Moscow's exclusion from the Western financial system since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.....

BERLIN, March 30 (Reuters) - Germany will continue to pay for Russian gas in euros or dollars, a government spokesman said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told the German chancellor nothing would change for European partners despite his plan for rouble payments. Russia has said that because of Western financial sanctions over Ukraine, it plans to require payment for its energy exports - especially the gas that Germany depends on - in roubles rather than the usual euros or dollars from April 1. In a phone call between the leaders, Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that nothing...

Russia will not immediately demand that buyers pay for its gas exports in rubles, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, promising a gradual shift and saying Russia should work on an idea to widen the list of its exports requiring ruble payment. President Vladimir Putin issued an order last week for Russian gas, which accounts for 40 percent of European needs, to paid for in rubles instead of dollars or euros. -snip- Asked whether the payments should be in rubles starting from Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Absolutely no.”

MOSCOW, March 3 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble slumped to new record lows against the dollar on Thursday though it closed the Moscow session little changed, after Fitch and Moody's downgraded Russia's sovereign debt to "junk" status, with steps by the central bank and finance ministry failing to halt its slide. Russia's financial markets have been thrown into turmoil by sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. The stock market remains closed and trading volume on its sovereign debt has vanished. The rouble ended at 106.01 per dollar in...

The Russian rouble plunged nearly 20% to a new record low versus the dollar on Monday and the euro sank more than 1% after Western nations announced a harsh set of sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including blocking some banks from the SWIFT international payments system. read more The risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars also tumbled, while the safe-haven yen rallied as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert on Sunday, the fourth day of the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two. The...

The Swiss central bank plans to charge depositors a 'negative' interest rate of -0.25 per cent to discourage spooked investors from using it to shelter their cash. Money has flooded into Switzerland as market turbulence caused by the Russian rouble collapse and oil price slide has prompted a desperate search for safe havens in recent days. The Swiss National Bank said it would slash its interest rate on balances of over 10million Swiss francs from January 22 - effectively imposing a charge on depositors wanting to hold francs in a bid to keep its currency artificially weak against the euro.

The Telegraph (UK) January 9, 2015 Fitch has downgraded Russia's credit rating and painted a horrific picture of a struggling economy rocked by a collapsing rouble, falling oil prices, high inflation and declining international reserves. The ratings agency cut the country to BBB- from BBB with a negative outlook, meaning further downgrades are possible. But it was the language Fitch used in its reasoning that was most shocking. Russia's economic outlook "has deteriorated significantly" in just six months, Fitch stated. Gross Domestic Product will shrink 4pc this year, the agency added, far worse than the 1.5pc contraction it previously expected....

(Reuters) - The ruble plunged more than 10 percent for the second day on Tuesday and recorded its worst fall since the Russian financial crisis in 1998 as confidence in the central bank evaporated after an ineffectual overnight rate hike. The rouble opened around 10 percent stronger against the dollar following the overnight 650-basis-point rate hike, but it reversed gains in early trade and fell to record lows, pushing losses this year against the dollar to over 50 percent. At 0637 ET, the rouble was down over 11 percent against the dollar at 73.00 after dipping past 74 rubles per...

The Russian central bank has put into effect its latest moves in the fight against inflation with some style. After raising interest rates on Monday for the first time since 2008, the authorities late on Tuesday widened the trading band for the rouble – and were happy to see the currency rise sharply on Wednesday, by a full 1 per cent against a US dollar/euro basket. As well as gaining some ground in the anti-inflation front, the central bank can claim another modest advance towards its aim of liberalising the rouble. Governor Sergei Ignatiev should be pleased with this week’s...

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MOSCOW - Today, the real value of the US dollar is RUR 11, reported the Economic Expert Group, an analytical center of the Finance Ministry. According to the Izvestia newspaper, the Central Bank announced its decision to focus on the curbing of inflation. Accordingly, it will pay less attention to supporting the dollar. People calculate their losses since the start of the year, and they realize how much they have lost. They invest in real estate, in order to sell later. The prospect that the Central Bank will abandon its exchange rate policy frightens not only ordinary citizens but also...