Russia could default on its debt within days

[Gnosis]

Russia could default on its debt within days

Russia has sent the clearest signal yet that it will soon default — the first time it will have failed to meet its foreign debt obligations since the Bolshevik revolution more than a century ago.

www.cnn.com

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So, who's going to shed a tear?

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I will say I'm starting to get a greater appreciation of the depth & ramifications of the sanctions levied.

I think the shame is that everyday Russians will have to break in order for the sanctions to matter. Putin would rather starve his citizens to death than quit his psychopathic rampage.

 

[Chomsky]

I think the shame is that everyday Russians will have to break in order for the sanctions to matter. Putin would rather starve his citizens to death than quit his psychopathic rampage.

Welcome to the world of dictators . . .

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

That's an awesome observation, CS!

But you overlooked the tube audiophile market, which has exploded in recent years, including for headphones.

Have you priced any original era Mullards lately???

No one is making tubes in the states today, besides several very low volume boutique firms. They all come from Russia & China, with China being really prolific these days. Apparently, they love tube audio! I say, 'they have good taste'!

But, here's the rub: Some of the Chinese tubes are getting to be pretty darn good. I've several that can nearly hold their own against the best NOS stock from the 40's/50's/60's! And that's *really" saying something!

No, I actually didn't overlook the audiophile market.
It's TINY compared to the musician market, so I figured it's a foregone conclusion.
But what I was getting at is, throw down the money, buy up the factory, ship it out of Russia and get busy.
We know about Chinese tubes, time to restart the US tube business, just like the US VINYL LP business, which by the way is going
GANGBUSTERS.

 

[Gnosis]

Welcome to the world of dictators . . .

Been here, done this. It's so sad.

 

[eohrnberger]

I thought all of them were just individuals making individual decisions for themselves alone.

Yes, it would appear that they are. But who really knows? That also don't change their potential impact on the field. There is nothing more debilitating to a military force when some of their own silently simply drop dead from a sniper round from an unknown location at what appears to be random intervals.

History has shown a single sniper team can change the orders, execution, behavior and performance of an entire battalion being sniped.

 

[Tbird19482]

I agree. That's why he could get desperate enough to use nukes. And then all bets are off

He could become a desperate man at any time now . Just hope it doesn't happen.
and if he does use then hopefully it is a small one not an ICBM pointed at the US
Have a nice night

 

[Gatsby]

London (CNN Business)Russia has sent the clearest signal yet that it will soon default — the first time it will have failed to meet its foreign debt obligations since the Bolshevik revolution more than a century ago.

Unless I am misunderstanding what they mean, CNN is wrong about that. Russia also defaulted on its debt in the late 1990s.

 

[Tbird19482]

I agree. That's why he could get desperate enough to use nukes. And then all bets are off

one more thing if the Military starts to revolt I wouldn't be surprised if China turned on them and went to war with them seeing it is right next to Russia and the people and Military are already fighting Putin and all
a lot of things could happen
and IF China does what do we do?
Help Russia?
have a nice night

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Let's hope this will put additional pressure on Putin and those around him. Putin has put his folks in the poor house for years, the Oligarchs will continue to build even larger yachts.

The oligarchs do not have political power in Russia.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

one more thing if the Military starts to revolt I wouldn't be surprised if China turned on them and went to war with them seeing it is right next to Russia and the people and Military are already fighting Putin and all
a lot of things could happen
and IF China does what do we do?
Help Russia?
have a nice night

Man, the Ukes are so desperate and close to collapse they’re writing bad fiction?

 

[Court Jester]

Let's hope this will put additional pressure on Putin and those around him. Putin has put his folks in the poor house for years, the Oligarchs will continue to build even larger yachts.

To hell with Putin, the best unintended consequence of this Ukraine nightmare is the message that China will be getting if they are still considering taking Taiwan by force. Does China really want to deal with the economic backlash associated with the same bad behavior Russia is committing right now?

 

[EMNofSeattle]

To hell with Putin, the best unintended consequence of this Ukraine nightmare is the message that China will be getting if they are still considering taking Taiwan by force. Does China really want to deal with the economic backlash associated with the same bad behavior Russia is committing right now?

Yes. Because the leaderships of these countries 1) don’t care about GDP in the abstract and 2) know that the sanction regime against them cannot be sustained because they sit on too many resources the west wants.

 

[Tbird19482]

Man, the Ukes are so desperate and close to collapse they’re writing bad fiction?

Well if China see an opportunity to take over Russia because it is in an up roar and collapsing it could happen
and what would we do?
or should do Help Russia or just let them go and then try to deal with the largest country in the world with Billions of people.
People of the US had better think about these things and think ahead at just what could happen
Have a nice night

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

A new wave music group called "Club Adobe" was on tour in Russia back in 1991 when the revolution stranded them for a while.
But they got an idea, stick around and weather the storm and use some of their money to make further inroads.
So they BOUGHT an entire cassette tape manufacturing facility for peanuts, guaranteeing them a Russian distribution network.

So, what does a tape cassette manufacturing plant sell for in 1991 post-collapse Russia?
Try thirty thousand US dollars.

If Russia defaults, and defaults hard, somebody with some smarts would do well to buy the Sovtek vaccuum tube manufacturing plant at fire sale prices.
A lot of musicians depend upon Sovtek vacuum tubes these days. So do a lot of wealthy audiophiles who have a soft spot for vacuum tube sound.
I bet if the Ruble drops down to something like five hundred or a thousand to the dollar that tube manufacturing plant could be had for a hundred grand or even less.

View attachment 67380173

You cannot get Sovteks anymore. ANd http://temporarymaintenance.thetubestore.com/?whence=

"We are overwhelmed with orders and need to temporarily close our website. We cannot accept any new orders until we get caught up. Please check back soon."​

 

[Gatsby]

Yes. Because the leaderships of these countries 1) don’t care about GDP in the abstract and 2) know that the sanction regime against them cannot be sustained because they sit on too many resources the west wants.

That's probably true of China, at least to some extent. But Russia isn't really that resource-rich, aside from fossil fuels. If Russia was permanently disconnected economically from the West, it would just be a minor nuisance for America and Europe.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

You cannot get Sovteks anymore. ANd http://temporarymaintenance.thetubestore.com/?whence=

"We are overwhelmed with orders and need to temporarily close our website. We cannot accept any new orders until we get caught up. Please check back soon."​

Like I said, there is a slim possibility that someone is going to wind up with SovTek in a fire sale at some point if Putin's economy flatlines.
Whether it's a Western investor or someone in Russia, hard to say but if the Ruble dips to around 350-500 to the dollar, the temptation to sell the factory and pack it up and move it out of Russia
will be IMMENSE.
That's all I was getting at, not whether or not SovTeks are available now.
I simply pointed out that the last time when the USSR went tits up, a tiny unknown band BOUGHT their very own tape cassette factory for peanuts and I was pointing
out that it is entirely possible someone will scoop up a fine Russian vacuum tube plant in much the same way.

My post had nothing to do with current availability, my post was just a bit of historical spitballing in order to signal that smart folks might want to keep
their eyes peeled in case such a move is in the offing.

 

[Lethargic Aptitude]

Like I said, there is a slim possibility that someone is going to wind up with SovTek in a fire sale at some point if Putin's economy flatlines.
Whether it's a Western investor or someone in Russia, hard to say but if the Ruble dips to around 350-500 to the dollar, the temptation to sell the factory and pack it up and move it out of Russia
will be IMMENSE.
That's all I was getting at, not whether or not SovTeks are available now.
I simply pointed out that the last time when the USSR went tits up, a tiny unknown band BOUGHT their very own tape cassette factory for peanuts and I was pointing
out that it is entirely possible someone will scoop up a fine Russian vacuum tube plant in much the same way.

My post had nothing to do with current availability, my post was just a bit of historical spitballing in order to signal that smart folks might want to keep
their eyes peeled in case such a move is in the offing.

My assertion that they are not available was not a denial of your assertion it was just added information. It showed the need for what you were suggesting. Not everything has to be a debate; chill.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

That's probably true of China, at least to some extent. But Russia isn't really that resource-rich, aside from fossil fuels.

Wrong

If Russia was permanently disconnected economically from the West, it would just be a minor nuisance for America and Europe.

Also wrong

 

[yankintx]

To hell with Putin, the best unintended consequence of this Ukraine nightmare is the message that China will be getting if they are still considering taking Taiwan by force. Does China really want to deal with the economic backlash associated with the same bad behavior Russia is committing right now?

I am with you on that, and am fed up with Putin calling the shots.

 

[trouble13]

I don't get it. What do you want?

I want to feel obligated to tell my friends on the left that even though I voted against him they made a good choice in electing him as our POTUS.

I want his to succeed in the things that we all can commonly agree upon; a strong economy, low inflation, high wages, a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world to look toward. I want low crime, a justice system that treats everyone equally. I want to be proud of Biden.

 

[trouble13]

Let's start with the basics. He stands on the right side of the issue, not like Trump who proclaimed it in his great wisdom to be "smart" and "savvy".
Then we move on.

Next

Can you give an example of what you're talking about rather than a vague platitude?

 

[Torus34]

Good advice at this point -- Tuesday, 3/15/2022 -- is to avoid taking a position in the Russian ruble until, say, Thursday at the earliest.

If then.

Regards, stay safe 'n well 'n remember the Big 5.

 

[NuffSaid]

Maybe Fox and Republicans can set up a GoFundMe to help Russia pay their debts.

 

[MTAtech]

All true. But all of Putin's eggs are in one basket. One has to worry about his lobbing a nuke in desperation.

One must assume these are rational actors, who will see that destroying the world gets them further behind.

 

[MTAtech]

They'll need to figure-out a way to borrow monies in Western currencies, if they want to buy western products, but who's going to lend a defaulter?

Perhaps they can use the foreign currencies they receive for their oil? Rupees? Yuan?

That’s a strategy. They do have a stockpile of gold and have minerals that they sell.

Besides the needless carnage, Putin must realize his blunder.