Sanctions on Russia

silverotter72 said:You know what this actually means? Absolutely nothing. Nobody in the global financial community is going to recognize this "repayment." It feels like pure PR intended for the naive folks back inside Russia. It's like if I walked into a Chase Bank and tried to pay off my credit card bill with seashells I gathered at the beach. That’s essentially the situation here.

Basically, if you try to offload your holdings in Russia, you'll just end up holding worthless scraps of paper. Honestly, the only logical move is to sit tight and wait for the dust to settle—which could take years, mind you. And even then, the Russians could just issue a decree claiming I invested rubles instead of dollars, and by the time inflation eats through them, those rubles won't be worth the ink used to print them.

The issue isn't about my opinion or how the rest of the world views it; the issue is that the Russians simply won't acknowledge anything else. Unless someone manages to force their hand—which, let's face it, seems impossible right now—you're stuck.

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Basically, if you try to offload your holdings in Russia, you'll just end up holding worthless scraps of paper. Honestly, the only logical move is to sit tight and wait for the dust to settle—which could take years, mind you. And even then, the Russians could just issue a decree claiming I invested rubles instead of dollars, and by the time inflation eats through them, those rubles won't be worth the ink used to print them.

The issue isn't about my opinion or how the rest of the world views it; the issue is that the Russians simply won't acknowledge anything else. Unless someone manages to force their hand—which, let's face it, seems impossible right now—you're stuck.

It might be impossible today, but nobody wants to pour money into a regulatory system this unreliable. Hopefully, they want to normalize relations sooner rather than later.

Or maybe Putin has already accepted becoming the next South Korea in the near future.🤔

Benjamin Taylor6 said:Basically, if you try to offload your holdings in Russia, you'll just end up holding worthless scraps of paper. Honestly, the only logical move is to sit tight and wait for the dust to settle—which could take years, mind you. And even then, the Russians could just issue a decree claiming I invested rubles instead of dollars, and by the time inflation eats through them, those rubles won't be worth the ink used to print them.

The issue isn't about my opinion or how the rest of the world views it; the issue is that the Russians simply won't acknowledge anything else. Unless someone manages to force their hand—which, let's face it, seems impossible right now—you're stuck.

It seems you might not quite grasp the fundamental mechanics of economics—you know, the whole supply and demand thing.
If a Russian citizen wants to buy a single hamburger from me, I am the one who dictates the price and the currency used, not him. He can't just issue a decree to change that. Either he agrees to my terms, or he doesn't get his hamburger.
He could try telling me, "But I have a law that says blah blah blah." Honestly, man, that law is meaningless here. Either you send me dollars, euros, or US dollars, or I’m not shipping that hamburger to you. You could send me rubles, or you could send me hugs and kisses for all I care; it doesn't change the deal.

Ultimately, the Russians will either play by the rules set by the seller (the global market), or they simply won't get the goods they need to import into their country.

By that same logic, if you invested $100k in Russia, and now they're claiming, "Okay, that's no longer $100k, it's X amount of rubles," well, once things eventually stabilize, you'll be the one using international law to point out: "Whatever you send me doesn't count as repaying my stake. The rest of the world will only consider this debt settled when you send actual USD, regardless of whatever laws you've cooked up in your own little corner of the world."

So, don't worry too much. The Russians can pretend to make decisions that affect the entire globe within their own borders, but outside those borders, those decisions are about as serious as a bad joke or a domestic argument over home decor. It's like if I decide the kitchen tiles should be beige, but my wife insists they'll be white. I can convince myself I've won the argument, but the reality remains that the tiles will be white, no matter what I say.

Just imagine you lend me $1.75, and I declare: "By my own executive decision, I don't owe you $1.75 anymore; I owe you five pebbles from the beach instead." Hahaha, that's just not how the world works.

Morgan Morales4 said:Look, I don't know all the gritty details—it's not like I'm in the loop with them to get a clear explanation or anything—but even as a blonde girl who might be a bit naive, I just don't buy the idea that you can suddenly fix an entire internet infrastructure in just ten days during an invasion.

Personally, I agree that any act of aggression should be met with sanctions, regardless of who is behind it, just so everyone else learns their lesson before they try something similar. I really hope they do learn.
If this is such a massive issue of energy dependency, why didn't they spend those two years of using the gas developing alternatives immediately? We guess we'll never truly know.

Zachary Johnson3 said:Man, the ruble is absolutely tanking... it's already down to 175 per USD

So, the Russians might actually bring back communism—a classless society where private property doesn't exist and money, according to Marx, is essentially useless. Can you even imagine?

Imagine a world where a person actually has everything they could ever possibly need—but without the crushing weight of actually owning anything. No property taxes, no maintenance, no endless headaches over possessions. Just pure, unadulterated utility. Wouldn't that be the ultimate way to live? To exist in a state of total fulfillment without a single worry about ownership hanging over your head? It sounds like a dream, doesn't it?

Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat is up 40%. With Russia and Ukraine being the heavyweights in global exports—and Russia leading the charge on fertilizer and everything else...

The USA can feed itself and still has plenty of energy in reserve.
Russia? They can also cover their own food and fuel needs internally.
The EU? They’re just stuck watching everyone else eat and drive.

It’s fascinating, really. These people who get a kick out of seeing others struggle. If this keeps up, they'll be howling in a few months when reality finally hits them right in the face.

bluemason3 said:It might be impossible today, but nobody wants to pour money into a regulatory system this unreliable. Hopefully, they want to normalize relations sooner rather than later.

Or maybe Putin has already accepted becoming the next South Korea in the near future.🤔

While China and Turkey are out there picking up everything at clearance prices.

While we’re busy trying to choke Russia with sanctions, the Chinese are basically waiting in the wings to swoop in, turn a massive profit, invest heavily, and eventually pick up the pieces of a collapsing Russia for pennies on the dollar.

We need to move fast on building up our own strategic reserves and put a hard ban on exporting wheat immediately...

silverotter72 said:It seems you might not quite grasp the fundamental mechanics of economics—you know, the whole supply and demand thing.
If a Russian citizen wants to buy a single hamburger from me, I am the one who dictates the price and the currency used, not him. He can't just issue a decree to change that. Either he agrees to my terms, or he doesn't get his hamburger.
He could try telling me, "But I have a law that says blah blah blah." Honestly, man, that law is meaningless here. Either you send me dollars, euros, or US dollars, or I’m not shipping that hamburger to you. You could send me rubles, or you could send me hugs and kisses for all I care; it doesn't change the deal.

Ultimately, the Russians will either play by the rules set by the seller (the global market), or they simply won't get the goods they need to import into their country.

By that same logic, if you invested $100k in Russia, and now they're claiming, "Okay, that's no longer $100k, it's X amount of rubles," well, once things eventually stabilize, you'll be the one using international law to point out: "Whatever you send me doesn't count as repaying my stake. The rest of the world will only consider this debt settled when you send actual USD, regardless of whatever laws you've cooked up in your own little corner of the world."

So, don't worry too much. The Russians can pretend to make decisions that affect the entire globe within their own borders, but outside those borders, those decisions are about as serious as a bad joke or a domestic argument over home decor. It's like if I decide the kitchen tiles should be beige, but my wife insists they'll be white. I can convince myself I've won the argument, but the reality remains that the tiles will be white, no matter what I say.

Just imagine you lend me $1.75, and I declare: "By my own executive decision, I don't owe you $1.75 anymore; I owe you five pebbles from the beach instead." Hahaha, that's just not how the world works.

There is a fundamental issue here: when you put your capital—your hard-earned money—into a business, there is potential profit, yes, but there is also the very real risk of loss.

There is a rule in investing that is far more important than "buy low, sell high"—and that is if a debt cannot be collected, you lose your money. That happens all the time, doesn't it?

steelfox98 said:Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat is up 40%. With Russia and Ukraine being the heavyweights in global exports—and Russia leading the charge on fertilizer and everything else...

The USA can feed itself and still has plenty of energy in reserve.
Russia? They can also cover their own food and fuel needs internally.
The EU? They’re just stuck watching everyone else eat and drive.

It’s fascinating, really. These people who get a kick out of seeing others struggle. If this keeps up, they'll be howling in a few months when reality finally hits them right in the face.

It looks like Russia imports way more food from the EU than the other way around.

I recently picked up a bunch of local canned sardines on sale, and apparently, their main export market is Russia. Not saying that's a good thing, obviously; replacing a major market like that and keeping production steady isn't exactly easy.

steelfox98 said:Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat is up 40%. With Russia and Ukraine being the heavyweights in global exports—and Russia leading the charge on fertilizer and everything else...

The USA can feed itself and still has plenty of energy in reserve.
Russia? They can also cover their own food and fuel needs internally.
The EU? They’re just stuck watching everyone else eat and drive.

It’s fascinating, really. These people who get a kick out of seeing others struggle. If this keeps up, they'll be howling in a few months when reality finally hits them right in the face.

Who exactly is celebrating the fact that an evil dwarf dictator invaded another country, killing people and forcing them into exile?

I hadn't quite noticed. 🤔 🤷

Honestly, it’s just a bunch of kids whining about food shortages and gas prices. Those of us over 35 or 40? We actually dealt with real chaos back in the day—stuff that was way worse than any theoretical disaster they're stressing about now.
We made it through then, and we'll make it through this, even if things aren't exactly like the "good old days."

PS. I'm still filling up my tank at $33 today; I really couldn't care less what the price of gas is at 😁

steelfox98 said:Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat is up 40%. With Russia and Ukraine being the heavyweights in global exports—and Russia leading the charge on fertilizer and everything else...

The USA can feed itself and still has plenty of energy in reserve.
Russia? They can also cover their own food and fuel needs internally.
The EU? They’re just stuck watching everyone else eat and drive.

It’s fascinating, really. These people who get a kick out of seeing others struggle. If this keeps up, they'll be howling in a few months when reality finally hits them right in the face.

The EU is capable of feeding itself and still exporting the surplus. For years now, the EU has used that extra food production as leverage against countries outside its borders.
You clearly don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about.

Amanda Allen4 said:There is a fundamental issue here: when you put your capital—your hard-earned money—into a business, there is potential profit, yes, but there is also the very real risk of loss.

There is a rule in investing that is far more important than "buy low, sell high"—and that is if a debt cannot be collected, you lose your money. That happens all the time, doesn't it?

Actually, I don't think that applies here. Usually, we weigh the investment against risk and reward under standard conditions. But when someone just seizes assets by decree, completely disregarding international norms, well, then you have to expect pushback. You'd expect pressure to ensure things continue according to established international standards rather than some unilateral rulebook cooked up on the fly.

It would be just as easy for Greece to pass a law stating they don't owe anyone a dime. Easy peasy. I’m not sure why they haven't thought of that yet. 😁 The chance of such a decree gaining any international recognition is essentially zero.

steelfox98 said:Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat is up 40%. With Russia and Ukraine being the heavyweights in global exports—and Russia leading the charge on fertilizer and everything else...

The USA can feed itself and still has plenty of energy in reserve.
Russia? They can also cover their own food and fuel needs internally.
The EU? They’re just stuck watching everyone else eat and drive.

It’s fascinating, really. These people who get a kick out of seeing others struggle. If this keeps up, they'll be howling in a few months when reality finally hits them right in the face.

You might want to take a quick look at Russia's pharmaceutical imports from the EU; I'm pretty sure those numbers are climbing too. I guess they're feeling pretty confident about all these moves they're making.
Let's be real: there is NO such thing as a truly self-sufficient country today, unless you count places that even God seems to have forgotten about, like Somalia.

Looks like the maritime blockade is starting to kick in too: Maersk, the world's largest container shipping line, to suspend deliveries to and from Russia

Honestly, this is what happens when you start throwing around those nuclear retaliation threats—it's basically game over, Mr. Putin.☕

steelfox98 said:Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat is up 40%. With Russia and Ukraine being the heavyweights in global exports—and Russia leading the charge on fertilizer and everything else...

The USA can feed itself and still has plenty of energy in reserve.
Russia? They can also cover their own food and fuel needs internally.
The EU? They’re just stuck watching everyone else eat and drive.

It’s fascinating, really. These people who get a kick out of seeing others struggle. If this keeps up, they'll be howling in a few months when reality finally hits them right in the face.

I mean, it's not exactly easy to just go out and plant a bunch more grain overnight...

This guy is talking like the EU is some kind of wasteland.🤣

Europe is going to get absolutely hammered on energy in the short term. There’s no point in kidding ourselves about it; we’re all going to feel the sting.
In the long run, though, diversification is where we actually stand to win.

Adam Lee13 said:I mean, it's not exactly easy to just go out and plant a bunch more grain overnight...

This guy is talking like the EU is some kind of wasteland.🤣

Have you actually tried planting anything, or are you just talking?

darkorca52 said:Have you actually tried planting anything, or are you just talking?

Give me a break with the acting like you know everything.

Adam Lee13 said:Looks like the maritime blockade is starting to kick in too: Maersk, the world's largest container shipping line, to suspend deliveries to and from Russia

Honestly, this is what happens when you start throwing around those nuclear retaliation threats—it's basically game over, Mr. Putin.☕

And it’s not just Maersk; all the big players are pulling out, including MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, and Yang Ming.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sh...-russian-cargo

silverotter72 said:Actually, I don't think that applies here. Usually, we weigh the investment against risk and reward under standard conditions. But when someone just seizes assets by decree, completely disregarding international norms, well, then you have to expect pushback. You'd expect pressure to ensure things continue according to established international standards rather than some unilateral rulebook cooked up on the fly.

It would be just as easy for Greece to pass a law stating they don't owe anyone a dime. Easy peasy. I’m not sure why they haven't thought of that yet. 😁 The chance of such a decree gaining any international recognition is essentially zero.

Am I really the only one here who lost money invested in a company that went bankrupt?

After two years of dragging things through the courts, I managed to claw back 30% of my capital—and honestly, I was happy about it because I was part of a privileged group of investors. Some people walked away with absolutely nothing.

Jesse Hughes6 said:Europe is going to get absolutely hammered on energy in the short term. There’s no point in kidding ourselves about it; we’re all going to feel the sting.
In the long run, though, diversification is where we actually stand to win.

Exactly! And how exactly is Russia supposed to profit from this war? There is just no justice left in this world.