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Russia’s central bank on Friday raised its key interest rate by two percentage points to a record-high 21% in an effort to stem growing inflation as massive government spending on the military amid the fighting in Ukraine strains the economy’s capacity to produce goods and services and drives up workers’ wages.
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Why does she look like Putin in a wig
When you log on with your alt account
Maybe Putin watched Star Wars and decided a clone factory is exactly what he needs
can someone ELI5 what does a central banks’ interest mean? and how is raising it supposed to combat imflation?
When someone borrows money they typically pay interest on it to the person they borrow it from. The lender can set what that interest rate is. A higher interest rate means that people are less likely to borrow money because it will cost them more. The “central bank” would be a government entity that lends money, often to other private banks. By raising their rates other banks also have to raise rates or lose money on their own loans. The idea of higher interest rates is to reduce the amount of loans. How that stops inflation is somewhat of a mystery, and the study of economics is not exact.
Super layman’s explanation ahead, there is a high chance of me getting something wrong here:
Very broadly, inflation can be caused by there being more money to spend than there are goods to buy with it.
If there’s €10 in the system that is available to be spent and an amount of goods that was worth €5 yesterday, the goods are probably going to be worth €10 now.
When a bank gives a loan to someone, it effectively creates new money. This doesn’t need to involve actually making new money in the sense of a mint or even a central bank. If I possess €100 of actual physical cash and I give €50 loans to five people, that’s totally fine so long as I can rely on no more than two of them actually requiring hard cash at a time before they pay me back. So now I have essentially “created” €150 more than there was before. And so long as everyone trusts that I can actually show up with €50 on demand, they can act as if they have the €50.
The central bank’s interest rate is what the central bank will pay me if I keep my €100 deposited with them. If that’s 5%, I’ll have €105 next year. As such, I will only offer loans if I expect to make more than €5 off of them once they are all repaid.
So if the interest rate is 21%, you are gonna need a hell of a business plan to be able to beat what I’d get by just leaving my money with the central bank. I am now unlikely to lend any money unless someone can persuade me that they’ll beat 21%. As such, I’m no longer loaning money out to all of those five people. Only two of them have plans that are that good. Now, there is way less money available to spend than there was in the other scenario, because two people have €50 each instead of five. If the amount of goods to buy stays constant, then by the principal from the very start of this mess there is less inflation. Buyers don’t have more money to spend, and prices remain lower.
Doesn’t higher interests mean more money is spent paying those interests, meaning less money is available to spend on other things which in turn reduces the monetary supply in circulation which curbs inflation?
Yes, that’s the theory, but it also has the side effect of making banks richer, because all the money that would be flowing out inflating the economy is now flowing into the banks inflating their stores.
That’s not really true. Banks getting higher interest on loans also pay out more interest on deposits, otherwise they’re unable to attract and retain customers. FI profitability is based on net interest margin (revenue from lending - losses from deposits), and they need deposits to have the money to lend out so they can’t arbitrarily lower their deposit account rates to increase NIM.
Banks get richer no matter what happens, because people need loans. If anything, higher rates make it more challenging for banks to make money as people are less able to make repayments and less likely to take out loans for luxury purchases or holidays.
Can’t wait to see the bots explain how this is actually a sign of a healthy economy that can continue this war indefinitely, and sanctions totally aren’t working bro I swear bro
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Russians have food and vodka. It is likely the most self sufficient industrial/war nation on earth.
It definitely is not a sign of a healthy economy. It is a measure to keep ruble high, and encourage people to save their rubles.
Russian economic growth, mostly due to military production spending, has been higher than western countries, even in USD terms because of this interest rate policy to keep ruble high, and the massive war economy.
While US/Ukraine is 100% responsible for war, there are also Russian elites (like US, the weapons and oil sectors) getting rich from it. As long as Russia eventually wins, this becomes an acceptable theater for them. A war on Iran is also likely seen as a profit opportunity for Russia, instead of something to prevent by say, sinking US aircraft carrier fleets with nukes.
Every Russian that wants a job has a job, and so that is more important for “stability” than unaffordable new mortgages.
How is Ukraine responsible for a war, when Russia took Crimea without much discussion and afterwards tried/tries to get more?
Ukraine searching for help isn’t a reason for a war. Entering another country is starting a war, and that’s what Russia did
98% of Crimeans voting to join Russia over being ruled by nazis, with western/CIA agency polling support for the result, is just part of the pure US empire propaganda to deny all election results it disagrees with. Trusting your media and politicians is the source of your misinformed hatred and abuse from the Empire.
Three days to Kyiv!
Sanctioned to the stone age!
Next stop: find out.
Are you suggesting that a 21% interest rate is a sign of a healthy economy?
No, but it doesn’t seem a lot
Did you never take high school economics or did you just sleep through it?
I just assume they’re all 13 and haven’t taken the class yet
In contrast to what Lemmy or any other internet community is claiming, I do not know economics enough to say what’s happening with the Russian economy for certain.
But what can I see, is that inflation is not as high as in 2022 or 2014 and Russian authorities have downed the amount of foreign currency a company that sells something for dollars should exchange for roubles. And the war is still going on.
So… notwithstanding the colossal sanctions, Russia is still standing 🤷🏼♂️ but the west has run out of things that they can sanction. Unless you think that potash, ammonia, natural gas, and nuclear fuel would be sanctioned in the near future. In this case, please consult reality. The choice that we’re about to see made is between abandoning Ukraine and military intervention.
You don’t have to know more than basic high school economics to understand why a 21% interest rate is disastrous for any nation. Russia isn’t special.
Russia had 18 for a long time and it didn’t look like a big deal. All these talks look exactly like reversed copium meme from 2022
I wish my emotions could sculpt my perceptions as massively as yours do for you.
Ignorance truly is bliss.
Signs of winning.
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