“Russia’s first external default in a century now looks all but inevitable after another brutal week for the country’s finances,” Bloomberg reports.
“First, the Treasury halted dollar debt payments from Russia’s accounts in U.S. banks, ramping up its restrictions on the country. Then, when an attempted hard-currency payment was blocked, Russia breached the terms on two bonds by paying investors rubles instead of dollars. That pushed the countdown clock a step closer to default.”
New York Magazine: Are the Russian sanctions working or not?