(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Natalia Orlova, special to RBTH – February 5, 2014) While developed economies face the need to deleverage, emerging markets still have the opportunity to grow by taking on more debt. Natalia Orlova is the Chief Economist at Alfa Bank in Moscow. While developed economies face the need to deleverage, emerging markets still have […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 5 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered analyzing the possibility of relocating the main offices of a number of major companies partly or wholly owned by the state and a number of federal government bodies to the Far East, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev told […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 5, 2014) More than a year and a half after joining the World Trade Organization, Russia has decided the size of its permanent mission to promote the country’s interests at the body’s headquarters in Geneva. The mission will be staffed by 27 representatives of the Economic Development Ministry and five specialists from the Foreign […]
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(Interfax – February 4, 2014) The economic amnesty declared by the Russian State Duma in July 2013 has already been applied to over 2,000 people, the office of the Russian presidential commissioner for the businessmen’s rights Boris Titov said. “As of February 4, the number of persons, regarding whom the State Duma resolution On Declaring Amnesty of July 2, 2013 […]
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MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax) – Business conditions facing Russian manufacturers continued to worsen at the start of 2014, PMI data from HSBC show. The overall deterioration in the sector was the most substantial since June 2009, with declines registered for output, new orders, exports, employment and purchasing, HSBC said in a research note. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures remained historically weak overall, […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Stanislav Savinov, special to RBTH – February 3, 2014) Stanislav Savinov is a macroeconomic analyst at UFS Investment Company in Moscow. New leadership has given the Russian Central Bank a fresh dynamism that was sorely lacking. The new head, Elvira Nabiullina, is shaking things up, in part by making inflation Enemy No. 1. […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) – Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev believes that the Russian economy passed through the worst of the economic downturn in the third quarter of 2013 and there are now encouraging signs that the situation is improving. “It seems to me that we passed through the nadir sometime in about the third quarter of 2013. Encouraging signs […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Ben Aris, special to RBTH – January 31, 2014) Russia’s benchmark RTS Index fell 6 percent in 2013 for one of the poorest performances on record. But analysts expect 2014 to be a better year for Russian stocks. Russian equity had one of its worst years on record in 2013, especially compared to […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – January 31, 2014) Entrepreneurship has become an object of intense focus in Russia since the crisis of 2008-2009, as debates continue over the pace and the progress of economic diversification. The expansion of business accelerators and technoparks across the country has indicated the interest in fostering small and medium-sized enterprises. Events such […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – David Miller, special to RBTH – January 31, 2014) Russian officials are looking to open talks on reducing trade barriers with the country’s former Cold War adversary, despite facing a host of political disagreements in other areas. Russia has proposed a new round of trade negotiations with the United States, aimed at kickstarting […]
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(Bloomberg editorial – bloomberg.com – January 30, 2014) The recurrent turmoil in emerging markets raises a difficult question about Russia: Is it a fundamentally sound economy that can weather the storm, or a corrupt autocracy headed for disaster? Unsatisfying as it may be, the answer is both. As the U.S. Federal Reserve starts to pull back on its extraordinary stimulus […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – January 31, 2014) Despite the fact that Russia went down 11 positions to 62nd place in the 2013 Global Innovation Index, Skolkovo Foundation executives said Thursday that the technology incubator plays an important role in buoying the country’s position in such ratings. The index, jointly prepared by Cornell University, INSEAD and the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Delphine d’Amora – January 31, 2014) It has been a punishing week for the ruble, and for many, the ghosts of previous crises feel all too near. Despite the Central Bank pouring more than $1 billion a day into propping it up, the Russian currency fell 6 percent against the dollar and reached an all-time […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 30, 2014) Anatoly Chubais, known in the West as the driver of post-Soviet privatization, is counting on his reputation and corporate savvy to attract external investors to Rusnano – the state-owned technology company he has run since its inception in 2007. Chubais outlined the company’s restructuring plans that involve a separation […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik, Stephen Bierman and Henry Meyer – January 30, 2014) The record stretched across the history of the party and its socialist predecessor — from the first meeting in March 1898 to the last one in July 1990, a year and a half before the Soviet Union collapsed, Bloomberg Markets will report in its March […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Chris Weafer, special to RBTH – January 30, 2014) Lower rates and higher standards along with more transparency could attract more FDI this year. Chris Weafer is a senior partner at Macro Advisory, a Moscow-based research consultancy. Russia suffered a poor economic performance in 2013 and the government is desperate to avoid a […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 30, 2014) Foreign direct investment in Russia rose by 83 percent last year to reach $94 billion, making the country the 3rd most successful in the world in attracting capital from abroad, according to a United Nations report. The U.S. led the rankings, pulling in $159 billion in 2013, while China attracted $127 billion, […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – January 29, 2014) Alexander Yakovenko, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, ponders how the Olympics will affect international diplomacy and tackles some of the misunderstandings surrounding the Games. In little more than a week, the Winter Olympic Games start in Sochi, but the prospects after this landmark event are visible now. I am […]
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(Interfax – January 29, 2014) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered to set up an autonomous non-profit organization, a center for appraisal of World Trade Organization issues, jointly with the National Research University Higher School of Economics and Sberbank (MOEX: SBER), the Russian government website reported on Wednesday. “To establish jointly with the federal state autonomous institution of higher […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – January 28, 2014) The rapidly depreciating ruble recovered slightly on Tuesday, after recording a five-year low against the euro of 47.50 on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon, the Central Bank indicated a rate of 47.37 against the euro, and 40.36 against the weighted currency basket of dollars and euros. The ruble’s managed decline […]
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(Pavel K. Baev – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 11, Issue 16 – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – January 27, 2014) So much self-congratulating has been emanating from the Kremlin following the spectacular triumphs of Russian foreign policy since September 2013, that the court of President Vladimir Putin prefers to ignore the fact that the annual meeting of the World Economic […]
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MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian ruble and other emerging market currencies are weakening because of the growing strength of the dollar and the euro, the head of Russia’s central bank said late Monday. Elvira Nabiullina said in a television interview on Channel One that there were no intrinsic problems with the ruble, which has slid to historic […]
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GORKY, January 27 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that government officials should be appointed to the boards of state-owned companies, in an apparent reversal of a signature reform he carried out during his presidency. “Civil servants should be [on the boards of directors of state-owned companies] in a sensible quantity and in sensible positions,” Medvedev […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, January 27, 2014) A market economy won’t save Russia from falling apart; indeed, it may even accelerate that process, according to a Moscow commentator, not only by concentrating development in some regions at the expense of others but also by leading to expanded ties between the periphery of the country and foreign […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – January 24, 2014) International shipping companies are canceling consumer package services in Russia, as a new range of customs requirements are likely to raise fees and extend processing times for goods ordered from online stores based abroad. The changes, ostensibly intended to simplify assessment of customs fees for consumer goods shipped from […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 24, 2014) The number of newly established Russian companies grew last year while the number of companies ceasing operations decreased, data has shown. According to statistics on the Federal Tax Service website, 411,900 new commercial enterprises were included on the state registry in 2013 an increase of 3.3 percent on 2012. At the […]
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MOSCOW, January 24 (RIA Novosti) The Russia ruble hit a historical record low Friday, dropping to 47.32 rubles per euro at tomorrow settlement date on the Moscow stock exchange. The previous all-time low dates back to February 3, 2009, when the ruble stood at 47.25 rubles per euro. The dollar traded at 34.52 rubles on Friday, a drop of […]
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DAVOS. Jan 23 (Interfax) – Russia and the U.S. plan to conclude a number of agreements concerning trade, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told journalists following their meeting with a U.S. trade representative on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. “There can be no talk of a project for a trade […]
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MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that there are too many banks in Russia, Prime business news agency reported. “We have just under a thousand banks. That is, of course, a large quantity of financial institutions for our economy,” Putin said during a meeting with a group of Moscow students. Dozens of Russian banks have […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – January 23, 2014) As analysts air their prognoses for the Russian economy with the start of a new year, one word is circulating among officials and financial experts: stagflation. After 2013’s slowdown in growth – a projected 1.3 percent, according to the World Bank in December, downgraded from an earlier projection of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 22, 2014) A report on Russian regions at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday will call on the country’s policy makers to attempt four key improvements for business. The measures are painfully familiar, but the report seeks to trigger implementation rather than surprise with startling solutions, said Alexander Ivlev, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – January 22, 2014) The World Economic Forum, the annual gathering of global business and political leaders taking place in Davos, Switzerland this week has played host to a number of interesting Russia-related events. In 1996 a group of Russian oligarchs devised a scheme that saved President Boris Yeltsin from certain defeat in […]
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MOSCOW, January 22 (RIA Novosti) Russia experienced zero growth in industrial output in 2013, Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said Wednesday, according to Russia’s Prime economic news agency. But the figure represented a slight recovery at the end of 2013, following a contraction in output earlier in the year. “According to forecasts, by the end of the year […]
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(“Russia’s Growing Regional Debts Threaten Stability is republished with permission of Stratfor” – January 20, 2014) Editor’s Note: The following is the first installment of a three-part series on growing debt for Russia’s regional governments. Summary Since the 2009 financial crisis, the Kremlin has allowed Russia’s regions to take the brunt of the country’s economic decline in order to keep […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 21, 2014) Real estate specialists say its necessary to head 60 kilometers beyond the MKAD to find quality low cost dachas. If you are dreaming of your own summer cottage in the Russian countryside, now might be the time to start shopping, as real estate specialists report prices on Moscow dachas and land plots […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 21, 2014) In a country like Russia, where a fair share of consumer goods come from abroad, the government’s efforts to move to a more flexible exchange rate for the domestic currency could rattle retailers and restaurants big time. Real estate brokers and others dealing in big-ticket items are also concerned. […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Dmitry Travin – January 22, 2014) Dmitry Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies. Global attention is focused on Russia’s hosting of the Winter Olympics, a PR coup for President Putin. But all is not well on the economic front and the scenario the Russian government will probably choose going […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 22, 2014) Russians should not keep their savings in rubles, as the currency is likely to depreciate, the head of the Banking Institute at the Higher School of Economics Vasily Solodkov said. “From now on, ruble exchange rate fluctuations against dollar and euro will be far more significant,” newspaper Argumenty i Fakty quoted Solodkov […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Des Brown – January 20, 2014) British historian and journalist Sir Max Hastings has penned volumes chronicling World War II, Korean War and Falklands War. His latest work, “Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914,” recounts the events of the first year of World War I and was published in September 2013, in time for this […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – January 20, 2014) With a little bit of luck, Russian IPOs could make a comeback in 2014, say bankers, after investors appetite was whetted last year. After almost five years of inactivity due to fears of a second wave of the crisis, 2013 saw several successful Russian IPOs get […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – January 20, 2014) Russian delegates at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos could have to field uneasy questions about the country’s economic slowdown at a time when Western economies are regaining their confidence. Russia’s economic aid to Ukraine is also likely to surface during discussions at the Swiss alpine resort, in […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – January 17, 2014) Russia is making slow progress in improving economic freedom, according to the “2014 Index of Economic Freedom” report released January 15 by the conservative US think-tank, the Heritage Foundation. Since reassuming the presidency in 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin has launch long-delayed structural reforms to make Russia a more attractive place […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – January 16, 2014) It became apparent that foreign economists and captains of industry view Russia’s economy more positively than the country’s officials, as they mingled and orated during the opening day of the Gaidar Forum in Moscow on Wednesday. However, participants agreed that interdependence in the global economy is unavoidable. Angel Gurria, […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) – Foreign direct investment in Russia’s non-banking sector surged 80% to $78.4 billion in 2013 from $42.8 billion in 2012, balance of payments estimates published on the Central Bank of Russia’s website show. FDI totalled $14.9 billion in the fourth quarter, $13.4 billion in the third quarter, $14.3 billion in the second quarter and $35.8 billion […]
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MOSCOW, January 17 (RIA Novosti) Up to a fifth of Russians work in a shadow economy that does not generate adequate tax payments, the country’s labor minister said Friday. “Fifteen to 20 percent of citizens” work jobs that do not provide proper tax and social security payments to the government, Maxim Topilin told an economic forum in Moscow. “I […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – SOCHI, January 14, 2014) Standing on Sochi’s Kurortny Prospekt, the city’s main avenue, Sochi’s status as the Nice of Russia is immediately clear; it is not only the site of the upcoming Winter Olympics, but also a place for national celebrities to see and be seen. It is perhaps due to this […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Grigory Tumanov – January 13, 2014) Grigory Tumanov is a Moscow based journalist and blogger. He is a staff correspondent for Kommersant daily, one of Russia’s most respected publications. In both Soviet and more recent times, Russia’s trade unions have tended to be an arm of the regime, but Grigory Tumanov argues that a growing independent movement is […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Natalya Krainova – January 14, 2014) The State Duma in the coming months will focus on legislation that will provide “stability” for businesses at a time of “extremely challenging” economic circumstances in Russia, Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Tuesday. “Today, almost in every strategic direction of the country’s development there are additional risks. They stem […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – January 14, 2014) The recurring question “What is to be done?” posed by Chernyshevsky and Lenin, will again be posed this week as government officials and international economists gather at the Gaidar Forum in Moscow on Wednesday to find ways out of the ongoing global crisis. The world’s economy is still crawling […]
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MOSCOW, January 9 (RIA Novosti) About a million foreigners could be working illegally in the Russian capital, a top Moscow migration official suggested Thursday. Olga Kirillova, head of the Federal Migration Service’s Moscow branch, said in televised remarks to the state-run channel Moskva 24 that just over 415,000 foreigners work legally in the city. She said that the overall […]
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