The price of Putin

By invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has made the world a more perilous place.

Geopolitically, it’s been a horrific fortnight. On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of its neighbours to the southwest. It marked a significant escalation between the countries—they have been clashing since Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. The situation is changing rapidly. Missiles are striking civilian landmarks, soldiers and civilians on both sides are dying, and a 64km long Russian tank convoy is approaching Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, as I write this. Global sanctions on the Russian state, economy, businesses, and oligarchs are roiling markets. The VanEck Vectors Russia ETF, an exchange-traded index of Russian stocks, fell 68% between February 16 and March 1. The Russian Ruble fell 29% against the U.S. dollar in the same period. However, the prices of gold, oil and natural gas, and wheat all climbed in anticipation of the economic fallout.

source: S&P Capital IQ

Undoubtedly, the effects on financial markets have been dramatic, and th…