The Bank of Russia unexpectedly maintained its key interest rate at a record-high 21% , defying analysts’ expectations of another significant hike as inflation remains stubbornly elevated. The decision marks a shift toward a more measured approach in balancing economic growth and price stability. Key Details Inflation Concerns: Annual inflation climbed to 8.9% in November, well above the central bank’s 4% target , with inflation expectations reaching 13.9% in December. Policy Rationale: The central bank cited the significant tightening of monetary conditions after October’s 200-basis point hike as sufficient to resume disinflationary processes. Governor Elvira Nabiullina emphasized avoiding both economic overheating and severe slowdowns. Economic Overheating: Elevated government spending on the war in Ukraine and social programs, coupled with labor shortages and rising wages, have fueled strong domestic demand, exacerbating price pressures...
This post continue from the past 3 post about the credit card:- Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 1) Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 2) Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 3) While part 1 and part 2 mentioned mostly on the pros of the credit card, part 3 talks about the con of using credit card in which I will talk about it in this part. Aside from high interest and a lot of hidden charges, swiping credit card actually give one the false sense of affordability when it comes to buying "wants" products rather than than the necessities. What are the things that we can consider as "wants"? These are the things like the hot gadgets that just released to the market, like the Apple iPhone and iPad, the latest Samsung S4 and many more. These "wants" products are usually not cheap, especially in Malaysia which can cost almost a month of salary, but there is one feature in credit card, in which I mentioned in Part 2 as the pros, if used wisely - the easy ...