current event

People pass by a currency exchange booth with the sign indicating U.S. dollar and euro rates, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. Russia's economy is spiraling downhill much faster than many expected just a few weeks ago. Companies have slashed up to a fifth of their staff, economists have drastically cut their growth forecasts, there are concerns of a steep currency devaluation and oil prices are in the doldrums - no good thing for an economy based on energy exports