Russia’s government is preparing a moratorium on bankruptcies in the metals sector to support heavily indebted companies hit by sanctions and high borrowing costs, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday, citing draft measures by the economy and industry ministries, The Moscow Times reported. Analysts told the newspaper that the proposal is aimed primarily at coal and steel producer Mechel, which is controlled by Igor Zyuzin.

Russia’s central bank lowered its key interest rate for a third straight meeting as the economy and inflation slowed following two years of rapid expansion driven by government spending on the war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia cut its key rate to 17% from 18% on Friday, having lowered borrowing costs in early June for the first time since 2022 and followed that up with a July cut. However, investors had expected a larger trim to 16%. “The economy continues to return to a balanced growth path. Lending growth has accelerated in recent months.

The head of Russia's largest bank has said the country's economy has reached a stage of "technical stagnation," EuroNews reported. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, German Gref, who runs Sberbank, said that Russia would have to slash interest rates to avoid a recession. GDP data from July and August showed "quite clear symptoms that we are approaching zero," after figures from the second quarter of the year revealed signs of economic stagnation, Gref noted.

EU tariffs on Russian fertiliser imports that aim to cut funding for Moscow's war in Ukraine have so far hit European farmers, raising costs and risking higher consumer prices while Russian companies say they can divert exports to other markets, Reuters reported. "We're shooting ourselves in the foot," farmer Cedric Benoist, deputy secretary general of French wheat farmers union AGPB and head of the cereals committee of EU farmer association Copa Cogeca, told Reuters, saying farmers are now faced with paying higher global prices.

Russia has quietly developed a crypto-fueled network of payments systems that's helped it evade Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, BusinessInsider.com reported. That assessment comes from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, which said that it believes Russia had created a "shadow crypto economy" in the years following its invasion of Ukraine in order to sidestep financial punishment by the US and its allies. The report highlighted one crypto token in particular tied to Russian businesses trying to trade under the radar.

Nearly 20% of Russian property developers are at risk of bankruptcy due to plunging sales driven by high mortgage interest rates, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said, the Moscow Times reported. Khusnullin, who oversees housing and infrastructure in the government, warned that this figure could rise above 30% if financial conditions do not improve in the next six months. “By my estimate, about 20% of developers face serious risks,” he told the Vedomosti business daily.

President Trump is combining diplomatic overtures with economic threats to persuade Russia to end its war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump raised the stakes of his approach this week, when he announced plans to meet President Vladimir V. Putin, on the same day that he said he would punish India for buying Russian oil by doubling U.S. tariffs, the New York Times reported. Over the past month, Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cripple Russia’s war economy if Mr. Putin doesn’t agree to a cease-fire, either by imposing new sanctions or by closing off the remaining markets for Russian oil.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would increase the tariff charged on imports from India from the current rate of 25% "very substantially" over the next 24 hours, in view of New Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil. He also said a "zero tariff" offer for imports of U.S. goods into India was not good enough, alleging that India was "fuelling the war" in Ukraine. Trump's threat to India over its purchases of Russian oil started on July 31, when he announced a 25% tariff for Indian goods, along with an unspecified penalty.

Russia’s central bank lowered its key interest rate for a second straight meeting amid mounting signs of a sharp slowdown in economic activity following two years of rapid expansion driven by government spending on the war in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia cut its key rate to 18% from 20% on Friday, having lowered borrowing costs in early June for the first time since 2022. That was in line with investor expectations.

Russia’s construction sector faces a wave of bankruptcies by the end of next year as sky-high interest rates squeeze companies across the industry, the head of Russia’s largest construction holding warned Monday, the Moscow Times reported. Alexei Krapivin, CEO of the construction giant Natsproektstroy, told the RBC news website that the Central Bank’s 20% key interest rate is choking access to capital, leaving many firms unable to service debts or fund ongoing projects. “Every company, without exception, is feeling the impact of expensive capital,” Krapivin said.