The Day at a Glance | February 22 2022

The Top

*Putin recognized two separatist Republics (Donetsk, Luhansk) in eastern Ukraine and signed military aid and cooperation agreements with both.

*E.U. proposes sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

*Member of the FED Michelle Bowman suggests that a 50 bp increase in March is still an option if inflation continues to surprise to the upside.

*Members of OPEC+ (Irak, Nigeria) aren’t considering increasing the supply of crude oil nor modifying the organization`s strategy.

Economic environment

Tensions in Ukraine. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that recognizes Donetsk and Luhansk People`s Republics as independent in eastern Ukraine; he also signed agreements of military aid and cooperation, which were later approved by the Russian Parliament. Putin`s actions have increased tensions with the West. Even though both regions were already occupied by Russian forces since 2014, this action reinforced the perception among Western officials that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. The European Union has proposed responding by sanctioning Moscow and has considered limiting Russia`s capacity to finance its campaigns in Ukraine through restricting Russian banks from operating inside E.U. territory. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured that he will suspend the Nord Stream 2 gas project, which will connect Europe with natural gas resources in Russia. U.S. United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield confirmed that new sanctions on Russia on behalf of the United States will be announced today. Putin`s actions have barred diplomatic negotiations from occurring as a meeting with President Biden – and mediated by the French government – scheduled to take place this week will no longer happen.