WDET Radio: How effective have economic sanctions against Russia been?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, one of the first pleas from President Vladimir Zelenskyy to President Joe Biden was for the West to “close the skies” over his country by creating a “no-fly zone” enforced by NATO, Europe and the U.S. Biden refused Zelenskyy’s request, noting the risk of American and Russian forces interacting could create a heightened chance of direct conflict, and ultimately war with Russia.

Instead, a tool the U.S. and other western nations opted to use even before the 2022 invasion began was economic sanctions.

But what exactly are economic sanctions and how effective have they been in this conflict Read and listen here.

The Kremlin

A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: “Economic Surprises” Are Now Positive. So Where’s Is The Recession?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Continued worry about a pending recession is getting stranger by the day.

Starting in the middle of last year a media drum beat of imminent recession crossed the airwaves and the cable channels. Yet the recession hasn’t arrived and the recessionistas haven’t shut up.

They should, because we see good signs in the economy. Read more here.

Queue for Soup Kitchen

National Museum of Denmark from Denmark, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Continued Sanctions On Russia “Unlikely To Deliver A Knockout Blow,” Think Tank

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

After a year of war in Ukraine, a major think tank has come to the conclusion that sanctions won’t crush Russia’s economy. The authors also realize that sanctioning China may be more than a little tricky, given how intertwined the U.S. is with the communist country’s economy. Read more here.

The Kremlin

Vincenzo Cardone, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Stock Market Sentiment Still Bearish — Keep Buying

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Stock investors have turned even more bearish, and that could be a signal that it's time to buy. Read more here.

pingnews.com, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: More News That Points To No Recession

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It's now more than half a year since Wall Street’s Cassandras warned of an imminent unavoidable recession. It still isn’t here and yet now there are signs of growing global strength, experts say.

“Signs outside of economic data suggest the economy may be doing better than headlines indicate,” states Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. “One of those signs comes from copper, which is widely considered to be a leading indicator for global economic growth, given its extensive use across many sectors.” Read more here.

Bundles of Copper cathode

ChrisFountain at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Weird Winter Weather Set To Send Wheat Prices Back Higher

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A combination of weather-related events looks set to cause sharp frosts that will hurt the forthcoming wheat crop, experts say. Read more here. 

Maurice Flesier, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Sanctions On Russia Still Aren’t Working

By SIMON CONSTABLE

We’re just over a year into the Russia-Ukraine war, and yet the much-touted economic sanctions from the west seem to have had little effect on persuading the the Kremlin to back off. If anything the reverse is true.

That’s a shame because so far up to 300,000 people have died in the conflict, according to some estimates. And the sanctions have done nothing to help. Read more here

Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, 

CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons