Brazil battled back by introducing capital controls in the form of taxes on foreign purchases of Brazilian securities, but the currency remains overvalued.
During his annual press conference on Thursday, the Russian president appeared to rule out drastic measures such as introducing capital controls or reshuffling the government.
In the past two elections the opposition successfully aroused fears that if Mr Harper won a majority he would subject a tolerant country to socially conservative policies banning abortion and gay marriage and introducing capital punishment.
Cyprus stayed in the euro after introducing capital controls, but it was done with the approval of other single currency members and involved knuckling down under an austerity programme.
The chancellor, George Osborne, is reported to be considering introducing capital gains tax for foreign buyers to level the playing field with UK residents, but some have called for further restrictions.
Kevin Hollinrake, managing director of Hunters Property Group: The chancellor must be aware that by introducing capital gains tax on foreign-owned properties in the UK, it may risk deterring important foreign investment into the London and the UK housing markets.
