What we’re reading (3/2)
“Powell Says Fed Is On Track To Raise Rates In Two Weeks” (Wall Street Journal). “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he would propose a quarter-percentage point rate increase at the central bank’s meeting in two weeks amid high inflation, strong economic demand and a tight labor market, offering an unusually explicit preview of anticipated policy action.”
“War in Ukraine Has Investors Thinking About A Second Cold War” (New York Times). “Financial markets have long been sensitive to geopolitical events — elections, supply disruptions and trade tensions — that can move prices. And in just a few days, the invasion of Ukraine has prompted a series of economic maneuvers that can quickly transform the way countries raise money, where they buy raw materials and with whom they do business.”
“Russian Dollar-Mortgage Holders Feel Ruble Crunch” (RadioFreeEurope). “In March, Yelena Balanovskaya and her husband took out a dollar-denominated mortgage to buy their dream apartment…[p]aying back the $200,000 loan, they thought, would not be a problem. Nine months later, it's an albatross around their neck. As the ruble has collapsed against the dollar, her $2,200 monthly payments have nearly doubled, from 77,000 rubles to 142,000. And if the ruble doesn't recover, Balanovskaya fears she won't be able to make her payments in the future.”
“Russian Stocks In London Wipe Out 98% Of Value In Two Weeks” (Bloomberg). “U.K.-listed depositary receipts of Russian companies are evaporating in value as sanctions take effect. The Dow Jones Russia GDR Index, which tracks London-traded Russian companies, has plunged 98% in two weeks. The slump has wiped out $572 billion from the market value of 23 stocks, including Gazprom PJSC, Sberbank of Russia PJSC and Rosneft PJSC, according to Bloomberg calculations.”
“Nightlife Inflation: The Cost of Going Out Is Going Up” (New York Times). “Ponyboy, a club in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, raised the prices of its drinks by one dollar, said James Halpern, the owner, who added that he felt bad about passing costs on to his customers. ‘Nightlife should be for everybody, not just for the elitists who can afford it,’ he said. He noted that Ponyboy’s electricity costs have nearly doubled and that he is paying more for various staples. A case of limes, which cost $20 or $30 a few years ago, now goes for $100, he said.”
