#Ireland has been given a tax cut and a painless #devaluation #swissfranc

Opinion: Swiss franc capitulation and oil price drop mean we are suddenly cheap

People line up at a currency exchange office in Geneva last Friday. ‘One of the richest, most stable and economically successful countries in the world was forced to abandon policies it deemed to be in its best interests.’ Photograph: Martial Trezzini/AP Photo/Keystone

The way in which the markets overwhelmed the Swiss central bank is eerily reminiscent of exchange rate crises of a bygone era.

The adoption of the euro brought to an end the recurring currency crises that afflicted us every few years. But one form of instability had merely been swapped for another rather than being eliminated: we enjoyed the luxury of never-needing reserves to defend an exchange rate but acquired new banking instabilities that will haunt us for years to come... (Read more)

EXTERNAL EXPANSION LTD., www.externalexpansion.net

#Russia: #Roublefalls back in volatile #trade after early surge

Russian currency is being hurt by falling oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine

The Russian currency is down some 40 per cent against the dollar this year.An employee uses a machine while counting Russian ruble banknotes at a private company’s office in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Photograph: Ilya Naymushin/Reuters

A recovery in the rouble ran out of steam on Tuesday as oil prices slid, wiping out early gains driven by modest foreign-currency sales on the final day of trading before the New Year holidays... (Read more)

EXTERNAL EXPANSION LTD., www.externalexpansion.net

#Russia Threatened by #OilPrice Slump Till 2015

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  Firms will continue building sites like the Arctic Prirazlomnoye oil platform only if the oil price goes up.
  Photo: Gazprom

In a blow to the financing of the state budget and Russian oil majors alike, global crude prices will likely remain low until 2015, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Oil Market Report for November, released late last week... (Read more)

External Expansion, www.externalexpansion.net,