A number of Russian banks have been removed from SWIFT:

The banks affected are „all those already sanctioned by the international community, as well as other institutions, if necessary“

Assets of the Bank of Russia (Russia’s central bank) will also be frozen. 
A joint statement after agreemen

For some background to this: Momentum grows to remove Russia from SWIFT An unnamed member of the European Central Bank Governing Council cited by Reuters says a decision to remove Russia is coming: „SWIFT is just a matter of time, very short time, days,“ the central bank governor, who a

I highlighted a under-appreciated trend last week: Public pressure to do more to punish Russia.It started with Biden’s press conference where he was hit with question after question about harsher sanctions and cutting of Russia from SWIFT.That same pressure has hit politicians everywhere. On

US stocks put together back-to-back up days to end week. S&P and Nasdaq close week higher
Gold trades lower on the week
Crude oil settles the week at $91.59 and that is lower on the week
Dallas Fed trimmed mean PCE inflation 3.5% vs 3.1% prior
Baker Hughes oil rig count up 2 to

The major indices have put together back-to-back up days with the Dow leading the way and having it’s best day in 2022. The gains come despite risk of more unrest in Ukraine as Russia surrounds the capital city of Kyiv.The final numbers are showing:Dow industrial average closed up 834.92 points or 2

Gold is lower on the week Gold, like crude oil, is closing near unchanged/lower on the week despite mid week spikes on the back of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The spike high in yesterday’s trading, saw the price move up to a high of $1974.40. That took the price to the highest le

Crude oil is closing lower this week. The price of crude oil settled today at $91.59. That is down $1.22 on the day. For the week, last Friday the price closed at $92.00. So believe it or not, the price is closing lower on the week after trading as high as $100.50 on the spike high on

12-month PCE inflation 3.1% vs 3.5% prior
Six month annualized inflation 4.6% vs 3.9% prior

One month annualized inflation 6.7% vs 4.6% prior

These numbers all show an acceleration in core inflation and that’s the kind of thing that will kick the

If inflation dynamics of 2021 are repeated in 2022, inflation will exceed BOE forecastsFed tightening and any ECB action will have important implications for the UKIf UK monetary policy is less robust than its neighbours, there is risk of sterling depreciationSuddenly, everyone wants a stronger curr

The unfortunate reality is that the siege on Kyiv will continue until Russia does gain control one way or another. China president Xi is the latest to have had a phone call with Putin and pushed to resolve the issue via negotiations, so I’m guessing Zelensky is trying to leverage off that latest dev