Most economic commentators believe balance of trade is a key factor in a currency’s exchange rate. All other things being equal, an increase in imports, which leads to a trade deficit, gives rise to an increase in the demand for foreign currency.

To obtain foreign currency, importers sell their domestic currency for it. This strengthens the exchange rate of the foreign currency against the domestic currency—i.e., there is more domestic money per unit of a foreign money.

Egypt is considered a former socialist state and a country where the tentacles of Marxism can still be found, buried deep within almost every institution, something I have observed having lived there many decades. As I watch and listen to so-called leftists and socialist activists from Europe and North America preach about the need for wealth redistribution and the benign merits of Marxist ideologies, I wonder: What, exactly, are they talking about? Experience with socialism outweighs the ideologies of Marxism.

Few things are certain, but the American government’s intent on inflicting economic hardship across the world is abundantly clear. There is no way Russia will take its sanctions lightly. They’ve already started fighting back with sanctions of their own. If this is part of the plan that US (pro-war) policy makers expect, it looks like a long and painful road ahead.

Per Reuters on Thursday, Russia announced: