Musemio co-founder and CEO Olga Kravchenko describes what it is like to own a business in Ukraine amid the war with Russia.
The United States and its allies continue to increase economic pressure on Russia following the country’s decision to invade Ukraine. Here is an overview of FOX Business on the actions taken against Russia so far.
SHARES CHANGE, US STRIKE IN RUSSIA’S CENTRAL BANK, OIL AND GOLD
Suspension of trading in shares of the Russian company NYSE, Nasdaq
On Monday, the New York Stock Exchange temporarily suspended trading in selected Russian-based companies, including US depository shares of Mechel PAO, public joint stock company Mobile TeleSystems and US depository shares of Cian PLC.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTL | MECHEL OAO | 2.25 | -0.05 | -2.17% |
| MBT | MOBILE TELESYSTEMS | 5.50 | -0.52 | -8.64% |
| CIAN | CIAN PLC | 3.40 | +0.09 | + 2.72% |
Nasdaq, meanwhile, said it would stop Yandex, known as Russia’s Google, and online retailer Ozon, as well as Nexters, QIWI and Head Hunter Group.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YNDX | YANDEX NV | 18.94 | -1.38 | -6.79% |
| OZONE | OZONE HOLDINGS AD | 11.60 | -1.03 | -8.16% |
| WHERE | NEXT | 6.38 | -0.12 | -1.85% |
| QIWI | QIWI PLC | 5.67 | +0.51 | + 9.88% |
| HHR | HEADHUNTER GROUP AD | 15.03 | +0.04 | + 0.27% |
Sources familiar with the stock exchanges told FOX Business that the suspensions, which could be used for unusual trading in all kinds of securities, will give employees time to review the rapidly evolving events in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which are affecting stocks. .
Freezing of transactions with assets of the Russian central bank
In conjunction with the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and others, the United States has effectively frozen financial transactions with Russian-held assets of the Russian central bank, a senior administration official told reporters during a briefing Monday.
The intended effect is to cripple Russia’s economy and spend the country’s “black days fund” as its currency, the ruble, falls sharply in value, the official said. This rainy day fund was created to protect itself from economic consequences when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014
According to the Foreign Assets Control Service of the Ministry of Finance (OFAC), this is not a complete block of the central bank, as OFAC allows certain transactions with the Central Bank of Russia that are “energy-related”. OFAC added that additional permits could follow if needed.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE MOVE BY CLICKING HERE
Removal of selected Russian banks from SWIFT
The European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States issued a joint statement on Saturday that “selected” Russian banks would be removed from the SWIFT financial system.
SWIFT provides messaging services to banks in more than 200 countries and is controlled by the G10 central banks, including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, and Sweden.
The statement also said the group would launch a “transatlantic task force” aimed at effectively enforcing financial sanctions, “strengthening” coordination against misinformation about the Russian invasion and limiting “golden passports” that allow wealthy Russians to contact the Russian government to become citizens of the countries.
Export controls
On Thursday, the trade ministry unveiled in-depth controls on exports from its Bureau of Industry and Security, which will severely limit Russia’s access to technology and other items used by the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors.
Elements targeted by export controls include semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers and sensors. In addition, the BIS rule imposes strict controls on 49 Russian military end-users, which are added to its list of legal entities.
The European Union, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand have announced that they will impose “substantially similar restrictions”.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
The potential economic impact of sanctions and Russia’s response
JPMorgan told customers in a research note reviewed by FOX Business on Monday that sanctions against Russia could have a “serious” impact on the country’s economy.
“We assume that the Russian economy will shrink by 20% [quarter-over-quarter], saar, in the second quarter, and for the year about 3.5%. But the margin of error for any such assumption is incredibly high at the moment, and the risks are severely skewed downward, “the note said.” We also believe that Russia’s growing political and economic isolation will limit Russia’s growth potential in the future. in the coming years and reduce Russia’s growth trend to 1.0% from 1.75% before. “
Researchers at the bank estimate that Russian inflation could reach 10% at the end of the year, up from 5.3%, with risks being strongly skewed upwards.
In response to the sanctions, Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% to counter the risks of devaluation of the ruble and higher inflation, ordered companies to sell 80% of their income in foreign currency, and resume buying gold.
Susan O’Halloran of Fox Business, Paul Connor, Ron Blitzer and Adam Sabes contributed to this report