The daily business briefing: August 15, 2023

Russia's central bank hikes interest rates 3.5% after ruble crashes, Hawaii utility shares plunge on concerns of equipment link to wildfires, and more

Russian foreign exchange market as ruble crashes
(Image credit: Contributor / Getty Images)

1. Russia's central bank raises interest rates 3.5% after ruble crashes

The Russian central bank hiked interest rates by 3.5 percentage points on Tuesday in an emergency meeting after the ruble crashed. The policymakers raised their benchmark rate to 12% from 8.5% in a decision "aimed at limiting price stability risks," the central bank said. The move reflects concerns about the impact of President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine on Russia's economic stability. The ruble has lost a quarter of its value during the war and inflation has averaged an annual rate of 7.1% in recent months, far above the central bank's 4% target. Timothy Ash, senior emerging-market sovereign strategist at RBC Bluebay Asset Management, said the ruble will keep falling "unless the core problem, the war and sanctions, are resolved."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.