Russia’s Collapse in 5 Stats
After a stunning currency collapse, Russia is now fully in the grips of an economic crisis. How deep is the chaos? Here are five stats that put Russia’s woes in context.
Ruble Riot
Russia’s currency entered free fall this week, hitting a record low of 80 rubles to the dollar today before recovering slightly. The ruble has lost over half its value this year, making it the worst-performing currency among the 170 tracked by Bloomberg. Passed on the way down: the Ukranian hryvnia.
Recession Looming
Russia’s economy has been slowing for some time, and is now poised to fall into recession. In early December, Russia’s economy ministry was forced to revise its estimate of 1.2 percent growth for 2015 down to a 0.8 percent contraction. Since then, oil—which makes up 50 percent of government revenue—has continued to slide, falling below $60 this week. Russia’s central bank warns of a contraction of 4.7 percent in 2015 if oil prices stay at that level on average.
A secret space program on Mars?
Former
‘I saw men walking on Mars in 1979′: ‘Former Nasa employee’ claims there was a secret manned mission to the red planet
[Top]Listen at 7 minutes 18 sec. …something like “People want….we want to do the present PLOS double check 61. This is the one…”
http://youtu.be/s9XWMJ4tgtsPLoS Biology