For years, investors have been buying up Russian government bonds, lured in by the high interest rates paid in dollars, euros and pounds. 1/
If you'd like an unrolled version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
These investors are now whining because they're pretending they only just noticed the fine-print on these bonds, especially the clause that lets Russia pay the coupon in roubles if hard currency isn't available "for reasons beyond Russia's control." 3/
Does your lifestyle involve consuming energy? If so, you may have noticed a tingly little sticker shock, especially at the gas pumps (but also everywhere else, from electric cars to home heating and beyond). #Inflation, amirite? 1/
To hear corporate Democrats and snake-eyed Republican sociopaths tell it, the problem is that we just can't have nice things. The real mistake was making sure working people didn't starve during the lockdown. 2/
Unfortunately for this narrative, reality has a well-known leftist bias, and boy are there a lot of CEOs boasting about price-gouging to their shareholders:
"These hydrocarbons should never have been burned and are now financing the destruction of Ukraine. It is time to leave them in the ground. If we don’t act immediately and radically, we may well regret it bitterly."
"If an ordinary Russian loses half of his pension or salary because of the fall in the rouble and inflation caused by the sanctions, then there is no recourse, no court where he can complain...
"On the other hand, if you want to deprive an oligarch with 100 million euros of half his fortune, then there are multiple procedures to challenge the decision, and very often you don’t pay anything...
Surprise billing's death-spiral may suck in untold patients: The best time to kill Envision Healthcare was before it started (the second best time is now).