Bloomberg reported on August 10 that “Russian inflation eased more than forecast to the lowest since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, after consumer prices declined in consecutive weeks thanks to a stronger ruble and a seasonal drop in the cost of fruit and vegetables.”
I’d ordinarily say — judging by the way their sanctions seem to have worked in reverse — that the Western globo-cops must have wanted to help Russia, because so often what they achieve is not what they tell us are their noble objectives. But all the other evidence, and two decades of history, are pointing the other way. Well, I have to admit that my claims that they aren’t stupid have to take into consideration that they are afflicted with a condition that causes brain-damage: Arrogance.
Fox reported Sept 16 that “An oil subsidiary in Germany previously controlled by a Russian oil giant is now under the control of the German government, it announced Friday. The German government said it took control of Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH, two companies owned up until now by multinational oil and gas company Rosneft. The government said the move would ensure continued oil production as the international community looks to cut its oil dependence on Russia.”
They would have been smarter to apologize, beg for forgiveness, and resume bilateral trade. I think German leaders are infected with US Deep State arrogance, and don’t realize that Russia has them by their short-hair.
The biggest story in the global economy is about the number of people — a number that is rapidly growing — who are beginning to realize how dependent advanced civilization is on oil and natural gas. One might call this a silver lining of sorts; it can’t be a bad thing for low-information people to get shaken out of the green mythologies they’ve been sold.
Europeans especially are in the pinch. Winter months are just around the corner; Nuclear is turned off or quite limited, and sanctions and/or maintenance issues have shut down the Russian Nordstream gas that has been relied upon by much of Europe. Unless there’s a breakthrough to change status quo, lots of people are likely to freeze.