Saturday, March 5, 2022

An energy and geopolitical recession?

Much has happened in the space of a week. In the wake of Russia's Ukrainian invasion, the West has responded with a series of tough sanctions designed to tank the Russian economy. Energy and other commodity prices have soared and this is shaping up to be another energy and geopolitical crisis. The last three episodes resolved in recessions, which are equity bull market killers. Fourth time lucky?
  • The 1973 Arab Oil Embargo
  • The 1979 Iranian Revolution
  • The 1990 Gulf War
  • The 2022 Russia-Ukraine Energy Shock (?)
The backdrop sounds dire. Nouriel Roubini recently warned of stagflation in a Project Syndicate essay. An analysis from Oxford Economics shows that the shocks will hit the Russian economy, but Europe will not be spared. The US is expected to see the least negative impact from the Russia-Ukraine energy shock.


As the Fed embarks on its tightening cycle, it faces a nightmare stagflation scenario of higher energy and commodity prices pressuring inflation and falling economic growth. 

The full post can be found here.

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