December 17, 2014
By Aparna Narayanan
Investor’s Business Daily
Russian markets took a fatal fall Tuesday after a massive hike in interest rate sparked instability in the ruble. Despite President Vladimir Putin assuring the economy will be cured, the country’s stock has been slammed in recent months led by plummeting global energy prices and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
In an interview with IBD, Steve Blumenthal, CEO of Capital Management Group, Inc. says the central bank raising the rate is “an attempt to attract foreign investors to buy Russian bonds at 17%, thereby shoring up the ruble.” Excerpt from the story:
With the ruble crumbling to rubble, investors in Russia ETFs are fleeing the dust.
The country’s stocks nose-dived Tuesday after a massive interest-rate hike failed to prop up the currency, leading to worries about capital controls, as reported by IBD.
The losses exacerbate Russia’s market performance woes: its stock market and currency have fallen more than 55% and 47%, respectively, in 2014.
Read to story in Investor’s Business Daily: Russia ETFs Reel From Crumbling Ruble, Rate Hikes