Sanctions on Russia

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.

Actually, Ukraine is the fifth largest exporter.
If you look at the rankings, you have Russia first, then the USA, followed by Canada, then France, then Ukraine, and then Australia... honestly, almost all those countries over in Eastern Europe are massive players when it comes to exports.
But let's be real, Russia isn't going to stay number one forever.😛

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.

When it comes to food, the EU actually exports more than it imports, and they’re self-sufficient in a ton of different products. Their biggest gaps are things like coffee and tropical fruits.

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.

Hey, feel free to check back in with me in a month, two, three, or even a year.

steelfox98 says: Look at this post

"Oil hitting $130
Natural gas at $3,600
Wheat up 40%—and remember, Russia and Ukraine are two of the biggest exporters on the planet, with Russia being the massive leader in fertilizer exports and everything else.//

The USA can cover its own food needs through domestic production, though they’re running pretty low on energy supplies right now.
Russia—they can also sustain themselves with their own food and energy production.
The EU? They can just sit there and watch everyone else eat and drive.

It’s honestly fascinating watching these people cheer because someone else is suffering—but if this keeps up for even a few months, they’ll be howling when reality finally hits them square in the face."

The real question here is whether spiking energy and agricultural prices can actually offset lost sales. Is it easier for a buyer to find a new supplier in the long run than it is for a producer to hunt down an entirely new market?

At the end of the day, the biggest disaster for Ukraine isn't the loss of wheat and fertilizer sales—it's the Russian aggression and the total destruction of the country itself."

silverotter72 said: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.

Does food just sprout from thin air, or does it actually need fertilizer first? Where does that come from? Where does the gas used to make the fertilizer come from?

By the way, try dialing back the aggression in your posts.

steelfox98 As stated by:
Does food simply manifest out of thin air, or does one perhaps need to fertilize the soil first? Where exactly does all of this originate? And where, precisely, does the gas used in the production of fertilizers come from?

Perhaps you might consider tempering the aggression in your posts from time to time.

Then why don't you enlighten us on why food prices in Russia have been skyrocketing like crazy for months on end?

Amanda Allen4 said: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.

Did they actually go bankrupt due to poor business decisions, or did the Governor just decide the company was worth zero so they wouldn't have to pay anyone back?
You see what I mean? It isn't just about the loss itself, but rather the underlying reason why it happened.

Amanda Allen4 said:Exactly! And how exactly is Russia supposed to profit from this war? There is just no justice left in this world.

I don't see how Russia can possibly come out ahead here. It feels more like they've somehow teleported themselves fifty years back in time. Maybe, if they're lucky, they can find a way to monetize being a regressive state with a broken economy.

steelfox98 said:Does food just sprout from thin air, or does it actually need fertilizer first? Where does that come from? Where does the gas used to make the fertilizer come from?

By the way, try dialing back the aggression in your posts.

Natural gas will flow exactly as it did before the war started. I suspect Russia simply can't afford to cut back its supplies to Europe right now.

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.

There is actually a silver lining to this chaos! These oil giants will finally be forced to release all those "competitive" patents they've been hoarding for the last couple of decades.
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a sudden, explosive boom in alternative energy solutions.

View on twitter
Ouch...

Gary Patel said:View on twitter
Ouch...

Aha.
Does anyone have any clarity on how many jobs we are actually talking about here?

Gary Patel said:View on twitter
Ouch...

In a similar vein—just way more messed up: Lithuanians withholding vaccines from Bangladesh because of how they voted at the UN:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...?ocid=msedgntp

Who’s running things over there—some teenager?

The European Union is looking to slash its reliance on Russian gas by nearly 80% throughout 2022

silverotter72 said:Did they actually go bankrupt due to poor business decisions, or did the Governor just decide the company was worth zero so they wouldn't have to pay anyone back?
You see what I mean? It isn't just about the loss itself, but rather the underlying reason why it happened.

Oh, it was absolutely due to business operations. I’m sure there are plenty of folks over in the West who poured money into Russian ventures and are now sweating over the possibility of losing everything.

Amanda Allen4 said:Oh, it was absolutely due to business operations. I’m sure there are plenty of folks over in the West who poured money into Russian ventures and are now sweating over the possibility of losing everything.

Look, almost every single trader out there has some kind of Russian stock sitting in their portfolio. Most of them weren't even considered risky before this war—which, let's face it, has completely flipped the world upside down...

steelfox98 said:Does food just sprout from thin air, or does it actually need fertilizer first? Where does that come from? Where does the gas used to make the fertilizer come from?

By the way, try dialing back the aggression in your posts.

Man, you’re being aggressive. The guy just gave a quick, straightforward breakdown of what's going on with agriculture.

For years now, the European Union has been playing a dirty game. They use massive subsidies to dump agricultural products at rock-bottom prices, essentially rigging the system to maintain their stranglehold as a global leader in food production and exports.

Look, when a global leader hits that point where they can't even meet their own basic needs anymore, everything goes south fast. It’s a total collapse. In that kind of scenario, we're talking massive food shortages and drastic rationing across the US, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Russia, and China. For most of the rest of the world? It would be pure starvation, reminiscent of the worst famine years in Somalia or Ethiopia.

Amanda Allen4 said:Exactly! And how exactly is Russia supposed to profit from this war? There is just no justice left in this world.

They don't.
Like that economist put it: Russia is double fucked.

George Robinson43 said:There is actually a silver lining to this chaos! These oil giants will finally be forced to release all those "competitive" patents they've been hoarding for the last couple of decades.
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a sudden, explosive boom in alternative energy solutions.

Like I said, in the long run, we're going to come out ahead.

Amanda Allen4 said:Oh, it was absolutely due to business operations. I’m sure there are plenty of folks over in the West who poured money into Russian ventures and are now sweating over the possibility of losing everything.

Exactly. Though, I suppose if the reason for the loss is simply Putin deciding, "You invested in USD? Fine, we're switching back to RUB and you can deal with the fallout," then we're looking at a different beast entirely. But if it's just a case of a poorly managed company failing on its own merits, well, that's no different from me losing my shirt on some struggling startup in Ohio.

Where can I find an up-to-date look at Russia's foreign exchange reserves?

Oil just hit $140, up from $130 yesterday.

William Cooper11 said:Where can I find an up-to-date look at Russia's foreign exchange reserves?

Officially and directly? There isn't a single reliable source out there.
Indirectly? You might find something here: https://www.tradingview.com/chart/Zxt4PAOj/
Every little "dip" you see is just an attempt by Russia to stabilize the Ruble and find some calm waters. If you want the truth, just watch what happens immediately after one of those drops. It’s just endless volatility and massive crashes.

Either they still have some reserves tucked away but know they won't save the Ruble—so they're just hoarding it for themselves—or they've already burned through everything they could and are now just scrambling to pick up whatever scraps fall their way.