10 things before the opening bell

10 things before the opening bell

Today we're breaking down Moscow's looming default crisis, and how the US Treasury's recent move complicates debt payments for the heavily sanctioned nation. Ready, set… This week, the US Treasury Russia's attempt to make debt payments of more than $600 million, ramping up pressure on Moscow. Russia is no longer allowed to make sovereign bond payments using American banks after the Treasury's Monday policy change. A Russian debt default would likely be a major worry for the government, which . Timothy Ash, an economist at BlueBay, told Insider he put following this latest move. , the Russian government has , as it still has access to about half of its $640 billion of its currency reserves. But now Russia will likely , Ash explained, plus Western bondholders may be reluctant to receive money. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Russia said it had sent $650 million bond payment in rubles after the US Treasury blocked payment transfers in dollar. The day before, the country's instead of dollars or euros. State-owned companies, too, are facing issues paying their bondholders. The clock is ticking on Moscow. The is stepping up its hawkish anti-inflation rhetoric, while the West mulls more sanctions on Russia that could feed