#Countries

“The Russian ruble opening for trade on Moscow’s exchange after being closed for several days and it’s sharply lower as you might expect…”CNBC When Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th February, the Russian ruble tumbled. “We were hearing earlier in the hour the Russian economy is plunging, taking a direct hit from the sanctions announced by Ukraine’s allies…”CNBC The currency lost roughly half of its value. Before the war 84 rubles were worth one US dollar and it fell as low as 154 rubles to the dollar by March 7. News that the US government would ban imports of Russian oil and gas, combined with a raft of sanctions against Russia by Western countries crippled the currency. “The US, Canada and European allies are cutting off key Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the move is seen as the harshest financial sanction imposed so far on Russia.” MSNBC It quickly sparked a nationwide rush to withdraw cash. Panicked Russians stood in long queues at ATMs in an attempt to get hold of foreign currencies as fear grew that the value of their savings would plummet. And this rush for cash forced Russian banks to borrow heavily from the central bank so they could meet the demand for withdrawals. In an attempt to protect its currency, the central bank closed the Moscow stock exchange and raised interest rates from nine and a half per cent to 20 per cent.  But just shy of a month on, Moscow’s stock exchange reopened with heavy conditions, and by Wednesday last week, the ruble had bounced back from its fall.  So, what’s really going on with the ruble? *** In an attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy, the US and its allies froze assets held by the Russian central bank. “Vladimir Putin has stashed away a mountain of cash to use as a powerful financial shield. Russia has the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve in all the world, their assets held by a central bank in foreign currency and gold reserves.” CNBC The assets were nicknamed Vladimir Putin’s “war chest”… “In total, Russia’s foreign exchange reserves total more than $630 billion…”CNBC And the move stopped Russia from being able to use any international reserves. Their assets are essentially stuck. Sanctions also stopped large parts of the West from taking part in any transactions involving the Russian central bank.   In response, it imposed strict capital controls to conserve any foreign cash. “For example, exporters have to sell eighty per cent of their foreign currency earnings back to the central bank. There’s a ten thousand dollar limit on individual Russians’ dollar withdrawals over a six month period, a five thousand dollar limit on sending money abroad and a ban on Russians’ buying foreign stakes in domestic assets…”CNBC Limits on currency exchange, withdrawals, and hard-currency transfers overseas are all helping to prop up the ruble. And suggestions that the Kremlin was more open to cease-fire talks with Ukraine also helped.  But some of the recovery being reported is artificial and the actions taken by the bank are returning Russia’s financial system to the way it was under the USSR.  It’s a strategy that may work well in the short term, but isn’t sustainable. *** Then there’s the other factor: Russia is still exporting oil and gas and that’s bringing a flood of hard currency into the country. Bloomberg estimates that Russia’s economy is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, an increase of more than a third from 2021.  The spike in energy prices linked to the war only increased Russia’s energy revenues, which made up around 40 per cent of the country’s federal budget last year. “Prices have gone up quite significantly so for the time being of course Russia has been collecting a lot more cash as a result of oil and gas prices being so high…”Vicky Pryce, Centre for Economics and Business Research, Money Talks To put it simply, oil and gas is an economic lifeline for Russia.  That puts more pressure on countries like Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian gas, to ban imports from Russia entirely. But the German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant. Through manipulating currency controls, the ruble appears to be recovering for the time being, an image Russian president Vladimir Putin will be keen to convey. As for the long-term cost of Russia’s invasion, it’s likely the ruble will pay a heavy price.  Today’s story was written and produced by Imy Harper.

“The Russian ruble opening for trade on Moscow’s exchange after being closed for several days and it’s sharply lower as you might expect…”CNBC When Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th February, the Russian ruble tumbled. “We were hearing earlier in the hour the Russian economy is plunging, taking a direct hit from the sanctions announced by Ukraine’s allies…”CNBC The currency lost roughly half of its value. Before the war 84 rubles were worth one US dollar and it fell as low as 154 rubles to the dollar by March 7. News that the US government would ban imports of Russian oil and gas, combined with a raft of sanctions against Russia by Western countries crippled the currency. “The US, Canada and European allies are cutting off key Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the move is seen as the harshest financial sanction imposed so far on Russia.” MSNBC It quickly sparked a nationwide rush to withdraw cash. Panicked Russians stood in long queues at ATMs in an attempt to get hold of foreign currencies as fear grew that the value of their savings would plummet. And this rush for cash forced Russian banks to borrow heavily from the central bank so they could meet the demand for withdrawals. In an attempt to protect its currency, the central bank closed the Moscow stock exchange and raised interest rates from nine and a half per cent to 20 per cent.  But just shy of a month on, Moscow’s stock exchange reopened with heavy conditions, and by Wednesday last week, the ruble had bounced back from its fall.  So, what’s really going on with the ruble? *** In an attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy, the US and its allies froze assets held by the Russian central bank. “Vladimir Putin has stashed away a mountain of cash to use as a powerful financial shield. Russia has the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve in all the world, their assets held by a central bank in foreign currency and gold reserves.” CNBC The assets were nicknamed Vladimir Putin’s “war chest”… “In total, Russia’s foreign exchange reserves total more than $630 billion…”CNBC And the move stopped Russia from being able to use any international reserves. Their assets are essentially stuck. Sanctions also stopped large parts of the West from taking part in any transactions involving the Russian central bank.   In response, it imposed strict capital controls to conserve any foreign cash. “For example, exporters have to sell eighty per cent of their foreign currency earnings back to the central bank. There’s a ten thousand dollar limit on individual Russians’ dollar withdrawals over a six month period, a five thousand dollar limit on sending money abroad and a ban on Russians’ buying foreign stakes in domestic assets…”CNBC Limits on currency exchange, withdrawals, and hard-currency transfers overseas are all helping to prop up the ruble. And suggestions that the Kremlin was more open to cease-fire talks with Ukraine also helped.  But some of the recovery being reported is artificial and the actions taken by the bank are returning Russia’s financial system to the way it was under the USSR.  It’s a strategy that may work well in the short term, but isn’t sustainable. *** Then there’s the other factor: Russia is still exporting oil and gas and that’s bringing a flood of hard currency into the country. Bloomberg estimates that Russia’s economy is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, an increase of more than a third from 2021.  The spike in energy prices linked to the war only increased Russia’s energy revenues, which made up around 40 per cent of the country’s federal budget last year. “Prices have gone up quite significantly so for the time being of course Russia has been collecting a lot more cash as a result of oil and gas prices being so high…”Vicky Pryce, Centre for Economics and Business Research, Money Talks To put it simply, oil and gas is an economic lifeline for Russia.  That puts more pressure on countries like Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian gas, to ban imports from Russia entirely. But the German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant. Through manipulating currency controls, the ruble appears to be recovering for the time being, an image Russian president Vladimir Putin will be keen to convey. As for the long-term cost of Russia’s invasion, it’s likely the ruble will pay a heavy price.  Today’s story was written and produced by Imy Harper.

“The Russian ruble opening for trade on Moscow’s exchange after being closed for several days and it’s sharply lower as you might expect…”CNBC When Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th February, the Russian ruble tumbled. “We were hearing earlier in the hour the Russian economy is plunging, taking a direct hit from the sanctions announced by Ukraine’s allies…”CNBC The currency lost roughly half of its value. Before the war 84 rubles were worth one US dollar and it fell as low as 154 rubles to the dollar by March 7. News that the US government would ban imports of Russian oil and gas, combined with a raft of sanctions against Russia by Western countries crippled the currency. “The US, Canada and European allies are cutting off key Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the move is seen as the harshest financial sanction imposed so far on Russia.” MSNBC It quickly sparked a nationwide rush to withdraw cash. Panicked Russians stood in long queues at ATMs in an attempt to get hold of foreign currencies as fear grew that the value of their savings would plummet. And this rush for cash forced Russian banks to borrow heavily from the central bank so they could meet the demand for withdrawals. In an attempt to protect its currency, the central bank closed the Moscow stock exchange and raised interest rates from nine and a half per cent to 20 per cent.  But just shy of a month on, Moscow’s stock exchange reopened with heavy conditions, and by Wednesday last week, the ruble had bounced back from its fall.  So, what’s really going on with the ruble? *** In an attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy, the US and its allies froze assets held by the Russian central bank. “Vladimir Putin has stashed away a mountain of cash to use as a powerful financial shield. Russia has the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve in all the world, their assets held by a central bank in foreign currency and gold reserves.” CNBC The assets were nicknamed Vladimir Putin’s “war chest”… “In total, Russia’s foreign exchange reserves total more than $630 billion…”CNBC And the move stopped Russia from being able to use any international reserves. Their assets are essentially stuck. Sanctions also stopped large parts of the West from taking part in any transactions involving the Russian central bank.   In response, it imposed strict capital controls to conserve any foreign cash. “For example, exporters have to sell eighty per cent of their foreign currency earnings back to the central bank. There’s a ten thousand dollar limit on individual Russians’ dollar withdrawals over a six month period, a five thousand dollar limit on sending money abroad and a ban on Russians’ buying foreign stakes in domestic assets…”CNBC Limits on currency exchange, withdrawals, and hard-currency transfers overseas are all helping to prop up the ruble. And suggestions that the Kremlin was more open to cease-fire talks with Ukraine also helped.  But some of the recovery being reported is artificial and the actions taken by the bank are returning Russia’s financial system to the way it was under the USSR.  It’s a strategy that may work well in the short term, but isn’t sustainable. *** Then there’s the other factor: Russia is still exporting oil and gas and that’s bringing a flood of hard currency into the country. Bloomberg estimates that Russia’s economy is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, an increase of more than a third from 2021.  The spike in energy prices linked to the war only increased Russia’s energy revenues, which made up around 40 per cent of the country’s federal budget last year. “Prices have gone up quite significantly so for the time being of course Russia has been collecting a lot more cash as a result of oil and gas prices being so high…”Vicky Pryce, Centre for Economics and Business Research, Money Talks To put it simply, oil and gas is an economic lifeline for Russia.  That puts more pressure on countries like Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian gas, to ban imports from Russia entirely. But the German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant. Through manipulating currency controls, the ruble appears to be recovering for the time being, an image Russian president Vladimir Putin will be keen to convey. As for the long-term cost of Russia’s invasion, it’s likely the ruble will pay a heavy price.  Today’s story was written and produced by Imy Harper.

“The Russian ruble opening for trade on Moscow’s exchange after being closed for several days and it’s sharply lower as you might expect…”CNBC When Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th February, the Russian ruble tumbled. “We were hearing earlier in the hour the Russian economy is plunging, taking a direct hit from the sanctions announced by Ukraine’s allies…”CNBC The currency lost roughly half of its value. Before the war 84 rubles were worth one US dollar and it fell as low as 154 rubles to the dollar by March 7. News that the US government would ban imports of Russian oil and gas, combined with a raft of sanctions against Russia by Western countries crippled the currency. “The US, Canada and European allies are cutting off key Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the move is seen as the harshest financial sanction imposed so far on Russia.” MSNBC It quickly sparked a nationwide rush to withdraw cash. Panicked Russians stood in long queues at ATMs in an attempt to get hold of foreign currencies as fear grew that the value of their savings would plummet. And this rush for cash forced Russian banks to borrow heavily from the central bank so they could meet the demand for withdrawals. In an attempt to protect its currency, the central bank closed the Moscow stock exchange and raised interest rates from nine and a half per cent to 20 per cent.  But just shy of a month on, Moscow’s stock exchange reopened with heavy conditions, and by Wednesday last week, the ruble had bounced back from its fall.  So, what’s really going on with the ruble? *** In an attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy, the US and its allies froze assets held by the Russian central bank. “Vladimir Putin has stashed away a mountain of cash to use as a powerful financial shield. Russia has the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve in all the world, their assets held by a central bank in foreign currency and gold reserves.” CNBC The assets were nicknamed Vladimir Putin’s “war chest”… “In total, Russia’s foreign exchange reserves total more than $630 billion…”CNBC And the move stopped Russia from being able to use any international reserves. Their assets are essentially stuck. Sanctions also stopped large parts of the West from taking part in any transactions involving the Russian central bank.   In response, it imposed strict capital controls to conserve any foreign cash. “For example, exporters have to sell eighty per cent of their foreign currency earnings back to the central bank. There’s a ten thousand dollar limit on individual Russians’ dollar withdrawals over a six month period, a five thousand dollar limit on sending money abroad and a ban on Russians’ buying foreign stakes in domestic assets…”CNBC Limits on currency exchange, withdrawals, and hard-currency transfers overseas are all helping to prop up the ruble. And suggestions that the Kremlin was more open to cease-fire talks with Ukraine also helped.  But some of the recovery being reported is artificial and the actions taken by the bank are returning Russia’s financial system to the way it was under the USSR.  It’s a strategy that may work well in the short term, but isn’t sustainable. *** Then there’s the other factor: Russia is still exporting oil and gas and that’s bringing a flood of hard currency into the country. Bloomberg estimates that Russia’s economy is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, an increase of more than a third from 2021.  The spike in energy prices linked to the war only increased Russia’s energy revenues, which made up around 40 per cent of the country’s federal budget last year. “Prices have gone up quite significantly so for the time being of course Russia has been collecting a lot more cash as a result of oil and gas prices being so high…”Vicky Pryce, Centre for Economics and Business Research, Money Talks To put it simply, oil and gas is an economic lifeline for Russia.  That puts more pressure on countries like Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian gas, to ban imports from Russia entirely. But the German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant. Through manipulating currency controls, the ruble appears to be recovering for the time being, an image Russian president Vladimir Putin will be keen to convey. As for the long-term cost of Russia’s invasion, it’s likely the ruble will pay a heavy price.  Today’s story was written and produced by Imy Harper.

“The Russian ruble opening for trade on Moscow’s exchange after being closed for several days and it’s sharply lower as you might expect…”CNBC When Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th February, the Russian ruble tumbled. “We were hearing earlier in the hour the Russian economy is plunging, taking a direct hit from the sanctions announced by Ukraine’s allies…”CNBC The currency lost roughly half of its value. Before the war 84 rubles were worth one US dollar and it fell as low as 154 rubles to the dollar by March 7. News that the US government would ban imports of Russian oil and gas, combined with a raft of sanctions against Russia by Western countries crippled the currency. “The US, Canada and European allies are cutting off key Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the move is seen as the harshest financial sanction imposed so far on Russia.” MSNBC It quickly sparked a nationwide rush to withdraw cash. Panicked Russians stood in long queues at ATMs in an attempt to get hold of foreign currencies as fear grew that the value of their savings would plummet. And this rush for cash forced Russian banks to borrow heavily from the central bank so they could meet the demand for withdrawals. In an attempt to protect its currency, the central bank closed the Moscow stock exchange and raised interest rates from nine and a half per cent to 20 per cent.  But just shy of a month on, Moscow’s stock exchange reopened with heavy conditions, and by Wednesday last week, the ruble had bounced back from its fall.  So, what’s really going on with the ruble? *** In an attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy, the US and its allies froze assets held by the Russian central bank. “Vladimir Putin has stashed away a mountain of cash to use as a powerful financial shield. Russia has the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve in all the world, their assets held by a central bank in foreign currency and gold reserves.” CNBC The assets were nicknamed Vladimir Putin’s “war chest”… “In total, Russia’s foreign exchange reserves total more than $630 billion…”CNBC And the move stopped Russia from being able to use any international reserves. Their assets are essentially stuck. Sanctions also stopped large parts of the West from taking part in any transactions involving the Russian central bank.   In response, it imposed strict capital controls to conserve any foreign cash. “For example, exporters have to sell eighty per cent of their foreign currency earnings back to the central bank. There’s a ten thousand dollar limit on individual Russians’ dollar withdrawals over a six month period, a five thousand dollar limit on sending money abroad and a ban on Russians’ buying foreign stakes in domestic assets…”CNBC Limits on currency exchange, withdrawals, and hard-currency transfers overseas are all helping to prop up the ruble. And suggestions that the Kremlin was more open to cease-fire talks with Ukraine also helped.  But some of the recovery being reported is artificial and the actions taken by the bank are returning Russia’s financial system to the way it was under the USSR.  It’s a strategy that may work well in the short term, but isn’t sustainable. *** Then there’s the other factor: Russia is still exporting oil and gas and that’s bringing a flood of hard currency into the country. Bloomberg estimates that Russia’s economy is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, an increase of more than a third from 2021.  The spike in energy prices linked to the war only increased Russia’s energy revenues, which made up around 40 per cent of the country’s federal budget last year. “Prices have gone up quite significantly so for the time being of course Russia has been collecting a lot more cash as a result of oil and gas prices being so high…”Vicky Pryce, Centre for Economics and Business Research, Money Talks To put it simply, oil and gas is an economic lifeline for Russia.  That puts more pressure on countries like Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian gas, to ban imports from Russia entirely. But the German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant. Through manipulating currency controls, the ruble appears to be recovering for the time being, an image Russian president Vladimir Putin will be keen to convey. As for the long-term cost of Russia’s invasion, it’s likely the ruble will pay a heavy price.  Today’s story was written and produced by Imy Harper.

“The Russian ruble opening for trade on Moscow’s exchange after being closed for several days and it’s sharply lower as you might expect…”CNBC When Russia invaded Ukraine on the 24th February, the Russian ruble tumbled. “We were hearing earlier in the hour the Russian economy is plunging, taking a direct hit from the sanctions announced by Ukraine’s allies…”CNBC The currency lost roughly half of its value. Before the war 84 rubles were worth one US dollar and it fell as low as 154 rubles to the dollar by March 7. News that the US government would ban imports of Russian oil and gas, combined with a raft of sanctions against Russia by Western countries crippled the currency. “The US, Canada and European allies are cutting off key Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the move is seen as the harshest financial sanction imposed so far on Russia.” MSNBC It quickly sparked a nationwide rush to withdraw cash. Panicked Russians stood in long queues at ATMs in an attempt to get hold of foreign currencies as fear grew that the value of their savings would plummet. And this rush for cash forced Russian banks to borrow heavily from the central bank so they could meet the demand for withdrawals. In an attempt to protect its currency, the central bank closed the Moscow stock exchange and raised interest rates from nine and a half per cent to 20 per cent.  But just shy of a month on, Moscow’s stock exchange reopened with heavy conditions, and by Wednesday last week, the ruble had bounced back from its fall.  So, what’s really going on with the ruble? *** In an attempt to cut Russia off from the global economy, the US and its allies froze assets held by the Russian central bank. “Vladimir Putin has stashed away a mountain of cash to use as a powerful financial shield. Russia has the fourth largest foreign exchange reserve in all the world, their assets held by a central bank in foreign currency and gold reserves.” CNBC The assets were nicknamed Vladimir Putin’s “war chest”… “In total, Russia’s foreign exchange reserves total more than $630 billion…”CNBC And the move stopped Russia from being able to use any international reserves. Their assets are essentially stuck. Sanctions also stopped large parts of the West from taking part in any transactions involving the Russian central bank.   In response, it imposed strict capital controls to conserve any foreign cash. “For example, exporters have to sell eighty per cent of their foreign currency earnings back to the central bank. There’s a ten thousand dollar limit on individual Russians’ dollar withdrawals over a six month period, a five thousand dollar limit on sending money abroad and a ban on Russians’ buying foreign stakes in domestic assets…”CNBC Limits on currency exchange, withdrawals, and hard-currency transfers overseas are all helping to prop up the ruble. And suggestions that the Kremlin was more open to cease-fire talks with Ukraine also helped.  But some of the recovery being reported is artificial and the actions taken by the bank are returning Russia’s financial system to the way it was under the USSR.  It’s a strategy that may work well in the short term, but isn’t sustainable. *** Then there’s the other factor: Russia is still exporting oil and gas and that’s bringing a flood of hard currency into the country. Bloomberg estimates that Russia’s economy is on track to see $321 billion in energy exports this year, an increase of more than a third from 2021.  The spike in energy prices linked to the war only increased Russia’s energy revenues, which made up around 40 per cent of the country’s federal budget last year. “Prices have gone up quite significantly so for the time being of course Russia has been collecting a lot more cash as a result of oil and gas prices being so high…”Vicky Pryce, Centre for Economics and Business Research, Money Talks To put it simply, oil and gas is an economic lifeline for Russia.  That puts more pressure on countries like Germany, which are highly dependent on Russian gas, to ban imports from Russia entirely. But the German chancellor Olaf Scholz is still reluctant. Through manipulating currency controls, the ruble appears to be recovering for the time being, an image Russian president Vladimir Putin will be keen to convey. As for the long-term cost of Russia’s invasion, it’s likely the ruble will pay a heavy price.  Today’s story was written and produced by Imy Harper.

Make sense of this week’s major news stories in a live editorial conference with Tortoise editors. Our daily digital ThinkIns are exclusively for Tortoise members and their guests.Try Tortoise free for four weeks to unlock your complimentary tickets to all our digital ThinkIns.If you’re already a member and looking for your ThinkIn access code you can find it in the My Tortoise > My Membership section of the app next to ‘ThinkIn access code’.We’d love you to join us.Sensemaker Live is our chance to get under the skin of a ‘live’ news story. Our Sensemaker team choose a topic a few days beforehand. Editor: Giles Whittell, Editor and Partner, TortoiseSensemaker Live is in partnership with SantanderHow does a digital ThinkIn work?A digital ThinkIn is like a video conference, hosted by a Tortoise editor, that takes place at the advertised time of the event. Digital ThinkIns are new to Tortoise. Now that our newsroom has closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, we feel it’s more important than ever that we ‘get together’ to talk about the world and what’s going on.The link to join the conversation will be emailed to you after you have registered for your ticket to attend. When you click the link, you enter the digital ThinkIn and can join a live conversation from wherever you are in the world. Members can enter their unique members’ access code to book tickets. Find yours in My Tortoise > My Membership in the Tortoise app.If you have any questions or get stuck, please read our FAQs, or get in touch with us at memberhelp@tortoisemedia.comRead our ThinkIn code of conduct here. What is a Tortoise ThinkIn?A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. It is a place where everyone has a seat at the (virtual) table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise.How we work with partners We want to be open about the business model of our journalism, too. At Tortoise, we don’t take ads. We don’t want to chase eyeballs or sell data. We don’t want to add to the clutter of life with ever more invasive ads. We think that ads force newsrooms to produce more and more stories, more and more quickly. We want to do less, better.Our journalism is funded by our members and our partners. We are establishing Founding Partnerships with a small group of businesses willing to back a new form of journalism, enable the public debate, share their expertise and communicate their point of view. Those companies, of course, know that we are a journalistic enterprise. Our independence is non-negotiable. If we ever have to choose between the relationship and the story, we’ll always choose the story.We value the support that those partners give us to deliver original reporting, patient investigations and considered analysis.We believe in opening up journalism so we can examine issues and develop ideas for the 21st Century. We want to do this with our members and with our partners. We want to give everyone a seat at the table.

Make sense of this week’s major news stories in a live editorial conference with Tortoise editors. Our daily digital ThinkIns are exclusively for Tortoise members and their guests.Try Tortoise free for four weeks to unlock your complimentary tickets to all our digital ThinkIns.If you’re already a member and looking for your ThinkIn access code you can find it in the My Tortoise > My Membership section of the app next to ‘ThinkIn access code’.We’d love you to join us.Sensemaker Live is our chance to get under the skin of a ‘live’ news story. Our Sensemaker team choose a topic a few days beforehand. Editor: Giles Whittell, Editor and Partner, TortoiseThis ThinkIn is in partnership with Santander.How does a digital ThinkIn work?A digital ThinkIn is like a video conference, hosted by a Tortoise editor, that takes place at the advertised time of the event. Digital ThinkIns are new to Tortoise. Now that our newsroom has closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, we feel it’s more important than ever that we ‘get together’ to talk about the world and what’s going on.The link to join the conversation will be emailed to you after you have registered for your ticket to attend. When you click the link, you enter the digital ThinkIn and can join a live conversation from wherever you are in the world. Members can enter their unique members’ access code to book tickets. Find yours in My Tortoise > My Membership in the Tortoise app.If you have any questions or get stuck, please read our FAQs, or get in touch with us at memberhelp@tortoisemedia.comRead our ThinkIn code of conduct here. What is a Tortoise ThinkIn?A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. It is a place where everyone has a seat at the (virtual) table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise.How we work with partners We want to be open about the business model of our journalism, too. At Tortoise, we don’t take ads. We don’t want to chase eyeballs or sell data. We don’t want to add to the clutter of life with ever more invasive ads. We think that ads force newsrooms to produce more and more stories, more and more quickly. We want to do less, better.Our journalism is funded by our members and our partners. We are establishing Founding Partnerships with a small group of businesses willing to back a new form of journalism, enable the public debate, share their expertise and communicate their point of view. Those companies, of course, know that we are a journalistic enterprise. Our independence is non-negotiable. If we ever have to choose between the relationship and the story, we’ll always choose the story.We value the support that those partners give us to deliver original reporting, patient investigations and considered analysis.We believe in opening up journalism so we can examine issues and develop ideas for the 21st Century. We want to do this with our members and with our partners. We want to give everyone a seat at the table.