Mixing Finance and Politics

 

Blog dated 13 March 2022 

 

I often, too often, decry the American education system which teaches economics and politics as if they were unrelated ; while most other countries have ‘political economy’  in their core curriculum.  Seldom have I extended the meme to finance, but it is true that  financial activity is only connected to politics when corruption is involved.

 

Now a pair of long article from the team at the Financial Times  has  presented a very practical case study of Finance being  weaponized for political ends.  Both parts are outside the firewall and thus free to read. They were published April 6 and April 7.

 

Weaponisation of finance: how the west unleashed ‘shock and awe’ on Russia

.This is the first of a two-part FT series on the sanctions on Russia’s central bank and a new era of financial warfare....

War in Ukraine: free to read

Financial warfare: will there be a backlash against the dollar?

Providing some answers

 

 I have beenwrong about most events in 2022...here ismy attempt at penance....

Why does it take so long to ramp up chip production? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/technology/intel-chip-shortage.html?smid=url-share

 

Who pushed Putin into this madness? https://www.ft.com/content/69853fce-dbfd-470f-ad41-8b321d8cb739  Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 1946-2022: a far-right Russian firebrand

[and we learned the term ‘xenophobic pugilism’]

Can Putin be stopped?  Bill Browder on Putin, Sanctions and How to End the War - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

 

When did financial sanctions evolve into weapons?

Weaponisation of finance: how the west unleashed ‘shock and awe’ on Russia

...By the evening, agreement had been reached.The weaponisation of finance This is the first of a two-part FT series on the sanctions on Russia’s central bank and a new era of financial warfare....

 

Are we tempting WW III? Slovakia gave its S-300 air-defence system to Ukraine, following entreaties by Mr Zelensky for more Western military equipment. In response the Biden administration said it would deploy a Patriot missile-defence system to Slovakia, to be operated by American soldiers. Earlier the Czech Republic sent Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine and Britain promised an additional £100m worth of “high-grade military equipment”.

 

How stupid are US politicians?  Covid Updates: At Least 53 People Test Positive After A-List Dinner in Washington