Mar 17th
2014, 14:53 by Buttonwood
The
Economist
THE big
question for investors after the Crimean referendum (which in its one-sided
result, only added to the 1930s parallels of the crisis) is what will be the
extent of Western sanctions against Russia , and what will be Mr Putin's
response. The latest figures from the Fed suggest that the Russians have been
following the famous rugby tactic of "getting their retaliation in
first". The Fed's custody holdings of Treasury securities fell by $104
billion in the week to March 12, with the sell-off generally attributed to
Russian actions.