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Due to Western sanctions, the Russian stock exchange temporarily closed to protect itself from the tumble. But some experts are convinced that the fall is on the horizon.
The Moscow Stock Exchange closed earlier this week. Sanctions imposed by the West in response to the military conflict in Ukraine have caused considerable turmoil in Russian financial markets. Some brokers aren’t particularly optimistic regarding what the future holds. Alex Butmanov, CEO and founder of Russian hedge fund DTI Algorithmic, is one of them.
“Work like Santa Claus once more”
Mr. Butmanov was invited to an interview on the Russian business channel on Thursday to talk regarding the stock market. At the start of the interview, it was immediately clear that this would not be an ordinary interview. He did not want to greet journalist Elina Tikhonova because he sees no future in her business, due to the sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries.
The journalist then asked him if he was going to continue to be active in the financial sector. “I intend to go back to working like Santa Claus, like 25 years ago,” he replied ironically.
” Rest in peace “
The broker then grabbed a bottle which he believed was a soft drink. He unscrewed the cap and toasted the demise of the Russian stock market. “Jokes aside, let’s get this over with quickly,” he said. “I salute Sergei Usichenko, who drank to the death of the stock market 13 years ago. Today I do the same with soft drink water. Dear Exchange, you were a close and interesting friend. Rest in peace, dear comrade. »
Tikhonova reacted with obvious shock to Butmanov’s symbolic action. “I’m not going to comment on that,” he can be heard saying at the end of the interview.
Usichenko, by the way, is a financial pundit who, in 2008, when markets crashed during the global financial crisis, toasted the demise of markets on TV. He did it with vodka in a coffee mug.
