As Russian Ruble Slides, Putin Under Extreme Pressure

As Russia is finding that its central bank lacks the control skills of the U.S. Federal Reserve, it will nonetheless continue in its efforts to manipulate the falling Russian Ruble as the price of oil, a key Russian revenue source, plunging in front of the currency.

As the Central Bank of Russia unexpectedly hiked its key interest rate from 10.5 percent to 17 percent, a Natixis research report says it won’t be enough.

Central bank's efforts to reserve the free fall of Russian Ruble

“In the absence of a political response to the situation,” the report says, likely pointing to requested U.S. political concessions in Ukraine, “all efforts from the central...