In the shadow of conflict

The first March session finished with declines of around 5 pct on the Warsaw stock exchange. The market in Moscow, meanwhile, was losing value at a double-digit rate as the billions of dollars being withdrawn from the Russian market were anxiously calculated. The annexation of Crimea has encouraged investors to turn their faces even further away from risky currencies – including the złoty. The ruble is now trading at its lowest levels in history. The situation was slightly different across the ocean. Although the reaction to the annexation of Crimea was nervous, just a few days later the New York S&P 500 index hit record levels – making all too apparent the difference between the Polish and American stock exchanges. The former has still not reached its pre-crisis levels (the WIG index needs to rise by app. 20 pct to reach that peak), whereas the latter keeps on breaking its own records thanks to the continuing intervention of the US Federal Reserve, as it pumps cash in