re: Hat's off to Putin - he knows what he is doing

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AAPL


I misread your original statement as "Russian Economy" not "Russian Market". There were actually 5 US companies more valuable than the Russian market as of the end of the year. I haven't kept up since, though.

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Obama has absolutely nothing to do with the drop in oil prices. Nothing. Not one thing!
In fact he's done everything in his power to attain the opposite effect. Outside of sheer luck, he has been owned by Putin at every intersection. Every one. Hell, even with the plummet of oil and the ruble, Putin is controlling the Eastern Ukraine situation. Crimea is off the table.


The drop in oil prices has been the chief contributor to the weakening of Russia's Papier-mâché economy, but external pressures and sanctions have exacerbated the effects. I'll be the last one to say that "Obama took Putin" down or anything else so asinine. But the fact remains that with the exception of bullying weaker nations within Russia's historical sphere of influence, Putin must be regarded as a failure. All the claims that he was flexing this and that, doing what's best for his people, reviving the Russian Empire, and basically having his way with the west (all well documented claims on this board) were and are a joke. The OP was a joke. Putin is a shitty, intemperate leader who rightly calculated that no one was going to blows over an historic part of the old Russian block. And he outplayed us in Syria in a move that ultimately worked out best for our interests.

That's it. He's nothing special.

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all of this ...

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The pressure is building on Vladimir Putin: Russia will be hit by a wave of bankruptcies unless it cuts interest rates very soon, a top financial official warned Monday...

The impact of Western sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine has sparked a cash crunch by shutting many companies out of international funding markets.

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Russia faces wave of bankruptcies

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The United States is back in the driver’s seat of the global economy after 15 years of watching China and emerging markets take the lead.

The world’s biggest economy will expand by 3.2 percent or more this year, its best performance since at least 2005, as an improving job market leads to stepped-up consumer spending, according to economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas...

“The U.S. is again the engine of global growth,” said Allen Sinai, chief executive officer of Decision Economics in New York. “The economy is looking stellar and is in its best shape since the 1990s.”

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US back at helm of global economy as employment rises


Putin is really putting it to Obama, isn't he?

Classic thread bump.

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Russians will eat less for Putin

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Anything for Mother Russia.

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He is working in his and and his country's interest

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Are you for real? This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

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How could Obama have prevented an invasion of Ukraine?

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There was probably not much he could have done considering it was inevitable following the coup in 2014. He messed up by taking a hardline stance from the outset.

There are significant regional differences in Ukraine as result of the post-Soviet formation. While the areas around Kiev supports the new pro-EU/anti-Russian government. The areas in the East and South are very much opposed primarily due to the fact that the area is predominately ethnic-Russian.

These regional differences go back much further than 2014. The President would have been wise to show patience while events were unfolding.

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Hat's off to Putin - he knows what he is doing

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Russia is on the brink of economic collapse yet Putin knows what he's doing?

The unhealthy hatred and obsession some of y'all have for Obama is entertaining yet sad at the same time.

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Russia’s foreign-currency credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s, putting it below investment grade for the first time in a decade as policy makers struggle to keep economic growth alive amid sanctions and falling oil prices.

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LINK

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Russian midsize lender SB Bank said on Monday that clients would be unable to withdraw money, the latest casualty of increasing strains on Russia’s banking system.

The bank, Russia’s 80th largest by assets, said on its website that it would no longer give cash to clients, without elaborating. Its press office couldn’t be reached for further comment.

Banks across Russia faced a surge in withdrawals in December as the ruble plunged to record lows and the central bank raised interest rates to steady the currency. The run was a blow to a banking system already weakened by Western sanctions and a souring economic outlook.

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LINK

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I don't think Russia would be in much better shape today with or without the invasion of the Ukraine. Oil prices have killed their economy.

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True. The sanctions just make it even worse.

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"The sanctions exacerbate the problems posed by the oil prices and the ruble," Kliment told CBS MoneyWatch. "The sanctions make it difficult, if not impossible, for Russian companies to raise new capital, to attract new investment."

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Russia's economic squeeze keeps getting tighter

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There are significant regional differences in Ukraine as result of the post-Soviet formation. While the areas around Kiev supports the new pro-EU/anti-Russian government. The areas in the East and South are very much opposed primarily due to the fact that the area is predominately ethnic-Russian.

These regional differences go back much further than 2014. The President would have been wise to show patience while events were unfolding.

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Actually, the connection to Ukraine goes back to the very birth of Russia, ~950-1000 AD. "Kievan Rus" it was called. There are hundreds of different ethnic groups living all over the Russian Federation.