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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked unprecedented economic retaliation as western nations pile on sanctions in what France has called “all-out economic and financial war.”
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9:41 a.m.
‘We will cause the collapse of the Russian economy’
France declared an “all-out economic and financial war” against Russia today as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.
Canada, the United States and allies have imposed sanctions on Russia’s central bank, oligarchs and officials, including President Vladimir Putin himself, and barred some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire described the sanctions packages as proving “extremely effective.”
“We’re waging an all-out economic and financial war on Russia,” Le Maire told France Info radio. “We will cause the collapse of the Russian economy.”
In a matter of weeks, Russia has turned from a lucrative bet on surging oil prices to an uninvestable market with a central bank hamstrung by sanctions, major banks shut out of the international payments system and capital controls choking off money flows.
Today Russia said it was placing temporary curbs on foreigners seeking to exit Russian assets, putting the brakes on an accelerating investor exodus driven by the sanctions.
Le Maire’s remarks drew an angry riposte from Russia’s former president and prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.
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9:38 a.m.
North American stocks opened lower today with bank stocks declining further as the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepened, while a surge in oil prices boosted shares of energy companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.12 points, or 0.23 per cent, at the open to 33,813.48.
The S&P 500 opened lower by 10.80 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 4,363.14, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 34.70 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 13,716.70 at the opening bell.
The TSX was up 64.60 points or 0.31 per cent to 21,190.96
Additional reporting by Reuters and Bloomberg
