Russia’s First Default in a Century Looks All But Inevitable Now - Bloomberg
Russia’s first external default in a century now looks all but inevitable after another brutal week for the country’s finances.
First, the Treasury halted dollar debt payments from Russia’s accounts in U.S. banks, ramping up its restrictions on the country. Then, when an attempted hard-currency payment was blocked, Russia breached the terms on two bonds by paying investors rubles instead of dollars.
That pushed the countdown clock a step closer to default. It’s been ticking since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, and the U.S. and others swiped back with a clampdown on banks, companies and oligarchs. A freeze on the central bank’s foreign reserves unplugged Russia from the global financial system, making it the world’s most-sanctioned nation in a matter of days.
The Ukraine War’s Impacts in the Middle East: A Democracy in Exile Roundtable - DAWN
Six weeks after Russia's invasion, the war in Ukraine grinds on. The battlefield evokes Syria, with horrific scenes of besieged Ukrainian cities that look like Aleppo. Russia's military is terrorizing civilians and leaving behind harrowing evidence of war crimes.
Internationally, the war has rallied the United States and much of Europe to Ukraine's defense, reviving NATO. But it has simultaneously further hastened the arrival of a "post-American" world, as many countries elsewhere are maintaining what they claim is neutrality and hedging with Russia—from major democracies like India to even supposed U.S. allies and partners like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are especially acute in the Middle East and North Africa, and not just because of the importance of those oil producers in the Gulf as the war has upended global energy markets. Food security loomed over the region before the war, as it is highly dependent on food imports from Russia and Ukraine, especially wheat. The biggest rifts that the war has exposed in U.S. foreign policy also involve some of Washington's closest Middle Eastern allies.
To understand what the war in Ukraine means for the Middle East and North Africa, Democracy in Exile reached out to a wide range of experts, including DAWN's own non-resident fellows. We asked what they expect to be the war's most significant and lasting impact in the region.
Moody's upgrades Israel's outlook to positive, affirms A1 rating | Reuters
Global ratings agency Moody's on Friday upgraded Government of Israel's outlook to "positive" from "stable" and affirmed sovereign credit rating at "A1"
Moody's said the key drivers for the change in outlook included the government's reform agenda that aimed to address longer-term challenges and the agency's expectation of a further reduction in the government's debt ratio.
Israel's economy grew 8.2% in 2021, above forecasts by the country's central bank, after a 20.2% contraction in 2020. Israel's annual inflation rate hit 3.5% in February, the highest since 2011. read more
The Bank of Israel is expected to hike its interest rates next week, the first tightening in over a decade, to combat rising inflation from strong economic growth and labor market.
