The strange fits and starts of Russian President Putin's invasion and take-over of the eastern and southern parts of the Ukraine clearly displays his territorial ambitions. However, there is another possible angle to Vladimir's chicanery ... and that might be personal financial gain. Yes, Putin is already purported to be a billionaire, but, as we know, greed has no logical limit.
And yes, I confess to rash speculation in this matter, but could not Putin buy high-beta depressed German and American stocks ... announce Ukrainian concessions ... then sell these stocks at a nice profit ... and then repeat this stock market wrenching behavior all over again. This weird merry-go-round has been repeated so many times over the last six months that I am forced to conclude that Putin may not be just expanding his borders but also his (and maybe others') bank accounts.
Moreover yes, this is a very cynical supposition on what is happening ... particularly since so many Russian and Ukrainian lives are being lost. However, Putin's icy demeanor suggests to me that he is perfectly capable of such an evil calculus.
Perhaps our SEC and the German government might dig into this possibility?
