Russia's toxicity for investors is suddenly so 2014. Western money is returning to Moscow's equity and bond markets, and private Russian companies are again able to borrow, albeit at a premium to Western peers.
The main cause for this reversal of fortunes is the cease-fire in Ukraine, even though it isn't really holding militarily or moving forward politically. That's a paradox that may shed light on how events in eastern Ukraine will develop.
The Wall Street Journal reported last Wednesday that "investors have taken Russia out of the penalty box." According to the global fund tracker EPFR, the influx of cash into mutual and exchange-traded funds targeting Russian securities so far this year has almost wiped out last year's outflow. Indeed, the rebound in the Russian stock and bond markets since December's panic over a free-falling ruble has been spectacular: