Germany has reported they convinced Putin to accept payment in Euros/Dollars for gassss.
Olaf Scholz’s office said Russian President Vladimir Putin told the German Chancellor that European companies could continue paying in euros.
In a phone call with Scholz, Putin said the money would be paid into Gazprom Bank and then transferred in rubles to Russia, a German statement said. The bank is not currently subject to sanctions.
“Scholz did not agree to this procedure in the conversation, but asked for written information to better understand the procedure,” the statement added.
If true, this is good news for German bros. It’s hard to understand why Putin will acquiesce other than to possibly use this to divide NATO. Nevertheless, I would not bank on this arrangement for much longer, should sanctions continue and the west continue to foment escalation in Ukraine.
In other news, Biden announced the US is giving Ukraine ANOTHER $500m, bringing the grande total minus weapons and equipment, to a staggering $16b. This is perverse but we should expect this in late stage Pax Americana.
And then there’s this out of Moscow:
Sergey Ryabkov: BRICS nationswill be one of the backbones of the new “fair world order”.
There is now an overt attempt to supplant dollar reserve status by Russia and opaquely supported by Brazil, Indian, and China. I think it would be much more forceful should Russia succeed in Ukraine, which is probably why we are throwing the kitchen sink at it, sans direct involvement.
Markets are weak, but nothing too substantial — with outsized performance on commodity related stocks.
UPDATE: No idea what’s what now.
If you enjoy the content at iBankCoin, please follow us on TwitterRussia releases summary of conversation between Putin and Sholz pic.twitter.com/es5iUut7FZ
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) March 30, 2022
we have idiot george costanza-like unable to think think-tankers advising the cognitively-impaired el Prezidente and voila, one self-destructive anti-home & -world peace & harmony decision after another
reserve currency status is certainly a red line. weakened already at the source by politicians status might succumb easier than wanted by a credible alternative. and this could be the time for that to emerge out of necessity and desperation.