(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 2, 2014) McDonald’s plans to open 70 restaurants in 30 Russian cities by the end of this year, significantly expanding its reach into cities that were never home to the fast food empire before, McDonald’s development director in Russia told ITAR-Tass on Tuesday. “We’ll have restaurants in Siberia, in the Central Federal District, and in […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Evgenia Pismennaya, Henry Meyer, Brad Cook – June 27, 2014) One month he wins the Olympics and kudos from world leaders. The next he grabs Crimea and gets kicked out of their most exclusive club. Now he’s facing a recession with few tools to fight it save the public’s love. Even Vladimir Putin, in his 15th […]
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BRUSSELS, June 27 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s chances of attaining candidate status for membership in the European Union are hard to predict, Stefan Fuele, EU Commissioner for Enlargement said. “We are not at the stage when we could even speculate about the candidate status. We just signed the association agreement, it needs to be ratified, we need to move on […]
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[“Ukraine Signs Trade Agreement With European Union” – New York Times – ANDREW HIGGINS and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN – June 27, 2014] The New York Times reports on Ukraine and the European Union reaching a sweeping trade deal, one that had been the original impetus for protests effectively upending the earlier Ukrainian regime of Viktor Yanukovych. Meanwhile, Russia has threatened serious consequences in […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Alan Katz, Jesse Drucker, Irina Reznik – June 25, 2014) To see why U.S. economic sanctions against Russia are likely to have limited impact, follow the spending of a small Delaware-incorporated, Nasdaq-traded television company named CTC Media Inc. (CTCM) While CTC Media has a market capitalization of just $1.7 billion, it’s a good example of the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – June 26, 2014) Russian ruble has made rapid gains in value against the dollar and euro following statements made by Vladimir Putin. The Russian president declared his support for a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis after a meeting in Vienna with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, and has also […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – June 26, 2014) Two main business lobbies in the U.S. plan to publicly challenge White House foreign policy regarding Russia by taking out advertisements in the nation’s top three newspapers to warn that imposing additional sanctions against Moscow will only harm U.S interests. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 25, 2014) Russian stocks hit a five-month high on June 24 after President Vladimir Putin asked Russia’s upper house of parliament to repeal a law that granted him the right to use military force in Ukraine, as investors speculate the standoff with the West over Ukraine’s fate might […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – June 20, 2014) In Soviet times you knew when something was about to be fixed when the ladies with the white scarves on the heads turned up with their toolboxes and buckets. One of the real successes of communism was to elevate the role of women in the work place. It was one of […]
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ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow intends to refer the issue of unilateral economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West to the World Trade Organization, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday. “When the United States imposed on Russia sanctions that create negative consequences for foreign trade, we decided to challenge them in the World Trade Organization. […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Peter Szopo of Erste Asset Management – June 18, 2014) [Charts here http://www.bne.eu/content/comment-russian-equities-next-leg-faces-hurdles] The latest Russian stock rally was strong but short. It started in the last week of April and may have ended already in mid-June, as the situation in Ukraine began deteriorating once more. The main RTS index rose by 23% […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – June 18, 2014) Politics took front stage at the flagship conference of the Association of European Business, or AEB, on Tuesday, where foreign companies with committed interests in Russia grappled with the economic fallout of the unfolding crisis in Ukraine. Business as something relatively immune to political vacillations is a thing of […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 17 2014) Summer has finally come to Moscow and the main hall in the Red October chocolate factory that sits on the River Moskva across from the Kremlin is buzzing with young workers flapping about in flip-flops or hunkered over computers writing code. This is ground zero for […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Farangis Najibullah and Umid Bobomatov – June 13, 2014) So you want to work in Russia? You may be a skilled bricklayer — but do you know when Ivan the Terrible reined in the boyars? Or when the Polish-Lithuanian forces were expelled from Muscovy? When Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg? No? Well you might want to start […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, special to RBTH – June 12, 2014) Independent news organizations including oppositional television channel Dozhd TV and the Slon and Bolshoi Gorod media outlets are to be brought into one media group and floated on the Moscow stock market. The IPO will be the first by a Russian media holding since […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – June 12, 2014) Wealth of Russian households increased 21.9% in 2013 to reach $1.92tn. The figures are disclosed in a survey “Riding a Wave of Growth: Global Wealth 2014” made public by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and seen by RBC daily. Whilst calculating overall wealth, BCG took account of total cash savings and […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Denis Volkov, special to RBTH – June 9, 2014) Denis Volkov is a sociologist with Levada Center. The analysis is based on data provided by the independent pollster Levada Center. A recent opinion poll by the Levada Center indicates that amid tensions over Ukraine and the takeover of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.ru – UralSib – June 11, 2014) Our year-end RTS target of 1,520 implies 14% upside. Our yearend RTS target now stands at 1,520, implying 14% upside from the current level. Based on our calculations, the dividend yield for the index is currently 4.3%, which would put the total return at roughly 18%, so we have […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Mark Lammey – June 10, 2014) Demolition men have flattened 1,451 of Moscow’s Khrushchevki – cheaply built 1950’s apartment blocks that were never meant to make it into the 21st century – in the last 15 years, as part of a foundering plan by ex-Mayor Yury Luzhkov to freshen up residential areas, the head of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 10, 2014) The number of households whose wealth exceeds $1 million in Russia has grown by 18,5 percent in 2013, reaching 213,000 last year, the Boston Consulting Group said in a report. Russia thereby maintained the position it held in 2012, ranking 13th worldwide in terms of the number of millionaire households, the consulting […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – June 9, 2014) From next year, responsibility for Russia’s special economic zones – key institutions that have proved an invaluable boon to domestic and international companies investing in Russia – may be transferred from the federal to regional governments, a news report said Friday. The decision to delegate management of the zones […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – June 9, 2014) Start-ups, business angels and venture funds – these terms have become part of the Russian language, although just a few years back they were almost completely absent from the local dialect. High-tech business in Russia is expanding rapidly and being part of it is now considered “cool” as thousands […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 5, 2014) The much-ballyhooed gas deal Vladimir Putin signed with Beijing will only have an “insignificant” impact on Russia’s economic development and state revenues, according to an analysis by experts at the Center of Development of the Moscow Higher School of Economics. Their 43-page report is available at opec.ru/data/2014/06/04/1233922990/KGB_70f.pdf. Its main […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – David Miller, special to RBTH – June 4, 2014) Russia is far more integrated into the world economy today than its Soviet predecessor was, making sanctions a more challenging proposition than when the Soviet Union faced them in the 1980s. The standoff over Ukraine has pushed tensions between Russia and the West to […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Lyubov Pronina – June 4, 2014) Denis Ichetkin’s decision to get a mortgage for a one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Moscow in late January couldn’t have been better timed, he said. The 30-year-old journalist and his wife Veronika secured a 15-year loan from VTB Group with a 12 percent interest rate before Russia’s March incursion […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Michael McAtavey, Special to RBTH – June 3, 2014) Russian markets have been pummeled by poor GDP growth and political headwinds. Yet some fund managers say they are finding deals. Sanctions. Conflict in neighboring Ukraine. Sagging economic growth. And let’s not forget capital flight. These are just some of the reasons why Russia’s […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Sandrine Rastello – June 3, 2014) The World Bank approved an investment in Russia for the first time since President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea, overriding opposition from Canada and lack of support from the U.S. The International Finance Corp., the lender’s private-sector arm, voted May 29 for parts of a 250 million euro ($340 million) package […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 30, 2014) The risk that the U.S. and European Union will slap further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine is subsiding, but the threat of a recession still looms over Russia, a Bloomberg poll of economists found. Half of the 32 economists questioned for the poll, released on Tuesday, said the Russian economy would slide […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Breffny Morgan – May 29, 2014) Sanctions may come and go, but bad reviews last a lifetime. TripAdvisor, the second most popular travel website, has recently blasted Russia on several counts of being the world’s worst travel destination in its yearly Cities Survey. This is not an overt move by a TripAdvisor editorial team to […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexei Lossan, RBTH – May 29, 2014) In spite of boycotts by CEOs of top global companies by the U.S. and a number of other Western nations, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, held on May 22-24 in Russia’s second city, saw contracts signed between U.S. firms and Russian market players. The St. […]
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MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that new pitfalls in the country’s economic development cannot be ruled out due to strained ties with Ukraine and possibly with other ex-Soviet states. “The next few years will be marked by continued instability and strained environment in some markets. New risks cannot be completely ruled out, […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 28, 2014) Russians are now far more concerned about defending what they have than in getting something better, Lev Gudkov says. Consequently, if the Kremlin does try to take away something the majority thinks is rightfully theirs, such a step would almost certainly put the survival of the current regime at […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 28, 2014) Rosneft head Igor Sechin has filed a lawsuit against journalists and publishers of the Russian edition of Forbes and Komsomolskaya Pravda for an article he says threatens to damage his business reputation. The lawsuit, filed on May 15, demands that the journalists and publishers behind a November report describing him as the […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Jennifer Freedman of Borderlex – May 17, 2014) Less than two years after becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Russia has filed two complaints with the dispute settlement body in Geneva that target the EU, Russia’s main trading partner. These complaints concern antidumping duties and a package of EU laws […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Lord Peter Mandelson of Global Counsel – May 27, 2014) Peter Mandelson was European Trade Commissioner between 2004 and 2008. He is now Chairman of Global Counsel Despite Russia’s recent underperformance, the size and potential of its economy has made it an attractive prospect for global companies. From German manufacturers to French and […]
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MOSCOW. May 26 (Interfax) – Russia has not yet felt the effect of the West’s sanctions, but if they are applied to whole sectors of the Russian economy, European businesses will be harmed equally, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “The effect of the sanctions on the Russian economy is absolutely minimal at the moment, if there is any at […]
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ST. PETERSBURG. May 23 (Interfax) – The initial economic data for April, including industrial output, indicates that the probability that Russia will enter a recession in the second quarter is below 50%, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In any case, he said, economic activity is expected to pick […]
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ASTANA. May 23 (Interfax) – Any new shocks to the global economy have the potential to reduce Russian GDP growth in 2014 to zero, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said. “If any shocks in the global economy occur, such as a drop in oil prices or further aggrava tion of the geopolitical situation, GDP could of course be near […]
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ST. PETERSBURG, May 23 (RIA Novosti), Daria Chernyshova – Russia’s poor infrastructure is a fundamental problem for local businesses and needs to be improved, former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday. “We need to make structural changes. The main problems are with infrastructure. We have […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in St. Petersburg – May 23, 2014) The mood is muted at the Kremlin’s annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum, which runs May 22-24. The threat of international sanctions is hovering over the heads of Russia n and foreign delegates in attendance at Russia’s premiere investment forum, and the impact of these […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nabi Abdullaev – ST. PETERSBURG, May 23, 2014) As Russia’s resource export- and consumer- driven economic growth fizzles, dozens of top Russian officials, businesspeople and foreign CEOs put their heads together in St. Petersburg on Thursday in a quest for new drivers to boost the country’s economy. No silver bullet was thrown on the table […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexey Eremenko – May 22, 2014) The 18th annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum launches Thursday with enthusiasm about Russia’s economy running low – the country is ambling into a recession, and Russia’s squabble with the West has prompted a mass pullout of foreign forum participants. This year’s edition of the forum, titled “Sustaining Confidence […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Vladimir Kuznetsov – May 19, 2014) Russia reduced its 2014 domestic borrowing plan by 46 percent as the world’s largest energy exporter expects to turn a fiscal surplus, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said. The government lowered the fundraising target to 435 billion rubles ($12.6 billion) from 808 billion rubles, Siluanov told reporters in Moscow today. The […]
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(Business New Europe, MOSCOW BLOG – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – May 19, 2014) The shouting match between west and east continues, but the Russian stock market was surging on May 19, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to arrive in China, where he is expected to sign a string of massive investment deals. Some […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 14, 2014) Russia has been cited as worst place to invest among the biggest world economies in light of the conflict in Ukraine, according to foreign investors polled by Bloomberg in their quarterly Global Market Investor’s Poll. Nearly 56 percent of respondents said that Russia was a poor place to invest. This is the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – May 14, 2014) Crimea has become a multi-billion dollar sponge soaking up funds slated for crucial infrastructure projects in other regions, as the government scrambles to support its newest territory’s economy. On Tuesday, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that the federal budget would have to fork out from 160 billion rubles […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 13, 2014) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the heads of Russia’s two largest banks – state-owned Sberbank and VTB – to report their income, expenses and assets as part of an annual anti-corruption checkup. Sberbank’s German Gref, a former economic development minister, and VTB’s Andrei Kostin were among those officials required to report […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sergey Chernov – May 13, 2014) With a growing number of Western artists boycotting Russia in protest of its annexation of Crimea and destabilization in southeastern Ukraine, a St. Petersburg concert promoter has spoken out against their actions, saying that these musicians are only hurting fans. Ilya Bortnyuk, whose agency Light Music has brought many […]
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MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russians have become more satisfied with their quality of life, while their desire to protest has decreased, according to polls by the Levada Center and the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) released Tuesday. Last month, 46 percent of Russians said they were generally satisfied with their quality of life, compared to 43 percent […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – May 9, 2014) For the majority of Russian citizens, international brands are a must: As far as cars are concerned they prefer the Korean Hyundai or KIA, but when it comes to phones they opt for Samsung. Muscovites, unlike the rest of Russia, prefer Apple and Volkswagen products. German and American quality According […]
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