Russia defaults on its debt

Russia missed payments on two bonds that were due last night, defaulting on its foreign debt for the first time since the 1918 Bolshevik Revolution.

🚫🏦 A deeper dive… The designation isn’t expected to have any immediate impact, as Russian bonds have been trading for pennies on the dollar since days after its invasion of Ukraine – a sign that investors believed default was probable.

• But in the longer term, a default will make it more difficult for Russia to re-enter international financial markets if/when sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine expire.
• Legal challenges regarding the default will likely play out over the next several years. Moscow has accused the West of creating an artificial default by refusing to accept payment in rubles and preventing Russia from accessing or transferring foreign currency.

🇺🇦 In other Russia/Ukraine news: The Ukrainian Army withdrew from Severodonetsk, the US and other G7 members banned imports of Russian gold, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world is facing an "unprecedented global hunger crisis" exacerbated in part by the war in Ukraine.