Russia Surprises Bond Markets

This is still up in the air ... but it seems like Russia made its interest payment in dollars yesterday like it was supposed to.

But no one is being clear on this.

The Russians say they paid.

Holders of those bonds are saying they didn't get any interest ... yet.

And the banks that would make all this happen ... haven't said a word.

My guess is that there are some legalities involved in whether the dollars that were used were actually accessible, either by Russia, or by the banks clearing the loans. 

While the U.S. and others have blocked a lot of Russia's financial capabilities, the U.S. Treasury issued a statement saying that if money from Russia actually makes it as far as you, you're allowed to accept it. But this begs the question of who is not accepting funds that are available to them, because somehow no one is saying there's a default either. If there was, a 30 day grace period would need to be publicly declared. But for now, the Russians are saying that they have not received confirmation that their payment has been accepted or declined.

***

There's an aphorism that you should get used to. It says something along the lines of "May you live in interesting times.". It's not intended to be a compliment.