| As the price of oil continues its relentless and seemingly unstoppable march down towards $50 a barrel, there has been growing chaos in the Russian financial system. The partial calm of late December, after heavy Central Bank intervention succeeded in putting a temporary halt to the currency’s swoon, has decisively ended.
Earlier today the risk of insuring Russian government bonds against default rose to the highest level since the worst days of the 2009 financial crisis, reflecting widespread concern among investors that “a cut in the nation’s credit rating to junk is imminent.” Perhaps market sentiment about Russia could get worse, but it’s hard to see how...............................................Full Article: Source
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