Russia

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki agreed on Tuesday to work together to tackle rising prices of food and energy, as well as volatility in currency markets, exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. They said that the war had raised exchange rate volatility, which could pose adverse implications for economic and financial stability, and pledged to cooperate "as appropriate" on currency issues.

Moscow's plan to implement a new law enabling authorities to seize the assets of Western firms leaving the country failed to get through parliament before the summer recess, giving companies more time to negotiate exits, Reuters reported. Russia's parliamentary session ended last week without the bill being passed. That makes any progress unlikely until at least mid-September, when the lower house of parliament, or Duma, begins reviewing proposed laws in its autumn session. Some experts now doubt whether the proposed law will be implemented at all.

Russia's financial monitoring agency, Rosfinmonitoring, said on Friday it was using software to track cryptocurrency transactions and hopes to improve its capabilities, as Moscow ushers in regulation on what one lawmaker dubbed "cryptomania," Reuters reported. The Bank of Russia has long voiced scepticism over cryptocurrencies, citing financial stability concerns, and has advocated for a complete ban on trading and mining, at odds with a government keen to regulate the industry.

Sanctioned Russian lender Sberbank PJSC caused the bankruptcy of the Antipinsky Oil Refinery in Western Siberia, according to Swiss trader New Stream Trading AG, Bloomberg reported. Sberbank “had full control of the management of Antipinsky” from mid-November 2018 and took steps leading to it “procuring the breaches” of the refinery’s existing contracts, NST said, quoting from a ruling by a tribunal constituted under the London Court of International Arbitration.

The Kremlin pushed back on claims that Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency debts on Monday, placing the country at odds with creditors. "Claims that Russia is in debt default are wrong. A foreign-currency payment was made back in May, and the fact that funds were not transmitted to recipients is not our problem,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russia missed payments on two foreign-currency bonds as of late Sunday, the day that marked the expiration of a 30-day grace period, according to bondholders.

Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in a century, the culmination of ever-tougher Western sanctions that shut down payment routes to overseas creditors, Bloomberg News reported. For months, the country found paths around the penalties imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. But at the end of the day on Sunday, the grace period on about $100 million of snared interest payments due May 27 expired, a deadline considered an event of default if missed.

Germany triggered the "alarm stage" of its emergency gas plan on Thursday in response to falling Russian supplies but stopped short of allowing utilities to pass on soaring energy costs to customers in Europe's largest economy, Reuters reported. The measure is the latest escalation in a standoff between Europe and Moscow since the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has exposed the bloc's dependence on Russian gas supplies and sparked a frantic search for alternative energy sources.

Russian officials are considering ways to keep the ruble on a tight leash without abandoning inflation targeting as they hunt for tools to tame the currency’s surge after sanctions ended the central bank’s ability to intervene directly, Bloomberg News reported. Rather than removing a commitment to target price growth, officials would need a new mechanism as long as sanctions on the central bank are in place, according to people familiar with the matter.

Google's local subsidiary in Russia filed for bankruptcy because Moscow's measures against the U.S. firm have made it impossible to do business, the firm said Friday, Politico reported. "Google Russia has filed for bankruptcy," a Google spokesperson said in a statement, adding that "the Russian authorities’ seizure of Google Russia’s bank account has made it untenable for our Russia office to function, including employing and paying Russia-based employees, paying suppliers and vendors, and meeting other financial obligations.