The thing is, this is the largest oil company in the world by volume, so 19% is way too big for a Clinton. It may be Putin leveraging ties with Middle Eastern oil barons to break off a piece for himself and his heirs, though -- which would make them insanely rich.
Also worthy of note is this indication of the wobbly financial status of Russia, that it's selling off pieces of a national asset* to bulk up its budget shortfall.
* and maybe one of the few it's got that actually produces a cash flow? I'm thinking of the credit card holder who pays only the minimum each month, but asks for a higher credit limit and builds debt at a greater rate than he pays off. And what happens when global interest rates rise? I wonder if Russia's debt is prime plus, or similar adjustable rate?
But I'm not even neighbors with a high finance person, so I'm likely speaking "stupid" here.... :-)
The difference, though, between a credit card holder and a government is the latter gets to keep printing financial units from roubles (let's say) to scrip to paper somethings until things get so bad nobody will lend at all. And the government still can print stuff up because domestically, the citizens have nothing else.
Russia will always have all the roubles the government thinks it needs.
Well, the Clintons do need some vehicle in which to invest their speaking fees.
ReplyDeletePutin and his Rosneft cronies also need some way to put their overseas (and nominally sanctioned) funds to work.
And the Clintons and Putin, et al., have done business together before in the radioactive commodity arena.
Now, of course I don't know these things to be factual, but the questions are out there....
Eric Hines
The thing is, this is the largest oil company in the world by volume, so 19% is way too big for a Clinton. It may be Putin leveraging ties with Middle Eastern oil barons to break off a piece for himself and his heirs, though -- which would make them insanely rich.
ReplyDeleteOr it may be something else.
Also worthy of note is this indication of the wobbly financial status of Russia, that it's selling off pieces of a national asset* to bulk up its budget shortfall.
ReplyDelete* and maybe one of the few it's got that actually produces a cash flow? I'm thinking of the credit card holder who pays only the minimum each month, but asks for a higher credit limit and builds debt at a greater rate than he pays off. And what happens when global interest rates rise? I wonder if Russia's debt is prime plus, or similar adjustable rate?
But I'm not even neighbors with a high finance person, so I'm likely speaking "stupid" here.... :-)
The difference, though, between a credit card holder and a government is the latter gets to keep printing financial units from roubles (let's say) to scrip to paper somethings until things get so bad nobody will lend at all. And the government still can print stuff up because domestically, the citizens have nothing else.
ReplyDeleteRussia will always have all the roubles the government thinks it needs.
Eric Hines