- I am always on the lookout for stories that "slip under the radar" of conventional media sources. Barron's magazine came out with a fascinating article yesterday. Some 500 Russian airliners are financed by aircraft leasing companies from the US, Europe, and China. According to Barron's, there is a fear of defaults on these leases. As sanctions have kicked in, civil aviation in Russia is close to collapsing. Russian aircraft are barred from flying over the airspace in Europe, the US, and I presume Canada. I suspect that other countries will join this ban on Russian aircraft flying over their airspace (Japan, Vietnam, etc.), We have also seen the collapse of the Russian Ruble that at one point saw $1.00 US=100 Rubles. All of us have had points in our lives when our income has dropped. What we cut first is restaurant meals and travel. This is sad news for Europe, the US, Canada, South America, and Turkey that receive a lot of Russian tourists each year.
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I got another surprise this morning from
The Financial Times of London. Deutsche Bank is one of the largest banks in the
world. 25% of its IT staff is based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Sanctions
could cause the closing of this office. I suspect that this is "the tip of
the iceberg” with many other Western companies having Russian staff members who
might have to be laid off. There is the potential for a massive number of highly
skilled and educated workers facing unemployment with very limited prospects
for new jobs in the sad Russian economy. All this potential for human suffering
makes me sad. Rest assured that it will make Putin more and more desperate.
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