Stratford57
Diamond Member
Nov 18, 2019, Forbes:
For all the talk about starving Vladimir Putin and, inevitably, Russia of financial resources with sanctions on major state-run companies, Russian bonds have become a must-have. Not only in Europe where yields are nearly zero, but also among American global bond fund managers that want to get paid for holding debt.
Considering there is about $15 trillion worth of negative-yielding bonds out there, Russia’s 10-year sovereign looks great to everyone, except to the most scornful of the anti-Russia crowd, at around 6.4% in rubles.
Russia’s 2027 dollar-bond pays 4.25% interest. Germany doesn’t pay at all, and instead yields -0.35%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yields just 1.8%. Those countries also have debt burdens that can spook long-term investors. Russia has practically no debt at all.
“They’ve made themselves bulletproof,” says James Barrineau, co-head of emerging-market debt for Schroders Investment in New York. “They can pay off all their foreign debts with their central bank reserves. Plus, they’re cutting interest rates. The currency is very stable. And they have room on the fiscal side to spend on their economy.”
Russia has over $433 billion in foreign currency reserves and $107.9 million worth of gold. It is the largest reserves among the big emerging markets after China, which has more than $3 trillion.
For Wall Street, Russia Has Become ‘Bulletproof’
We've been to Russia in summer, Russia is doing just great. Sanctions backfire on those who keep imposing them.
For all the talk about starving Vladimir Putin and, inevitably, Russia of financial resources with sanctions on major state-run companies, Russian bonds have become a must-have. Not only in Europe where yields are nearly zero, but also among American global bond fund managers that want to get paid for holding debt.
Considering there is about $15 trillion worth of negative-yielding bonds out there, Russia’s 10-year sovereign looks great to everyone, except to the most scornful of the anti-Russia crowd, at around 6.4% in rubles.
Russia’s 2027 dollar-bond pays 4.25% interest. Germany doesn’t pay at all, and instead yields -0.35%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yields just 1.8%. Those countries also have debt burdens that can spook long-term investors. Russia has practically no debt at all.
“They’ve made themselves bulletproof,” says James Barrineau, co-head of emerging-market debt for Schroders Investment in New York. “They can pay off all their foreign debts with their central bank reserves. Plus, they’re cutting interest rates. The currency is very stable. And they have room on the fiscal side to spend on their economy.”
Russia has over $433 billion in foreign currency reserves and $107.9 million worth of gold. It is the largest reserves among the big emerging markets after China, which has more than $3 trillion.
For Wall Street, Russia Has Become ‘Bulletproof’
We've been to Russia in summer, Russia is doing just great. Sanctions backfire on those who keep imposing them.