Russia 01 (May 08 - Jul 10)

[LenaHuat]

I watched Putin's exclusive interview with Bloomberg TV at 1700 on the sidelines of the Davos' WEF and caught the following interesting snippets :

"I don't work in a circus and so nothing abt my job is funny. It's hard work and I do get tired but nothing defeats me. The best and more memorable advice was from my mother : Do not ask for anything and Do not complain. My greatest sinful taste for food is ice cream, tubs of them. "

It's pretty unbelieveable how composed a former KGB agent could talk abt the world and Russian economy .....the devaluation of the ruble was gradual (not manipulation Ok), we've recapitalized the banks, we are working hard on the unemployment fears of Russians...etc.

[kennynah]

i happen to like the sound of his first name....Vladimir (say the "r" curling your tongue)

and i am sure, he gets excited whenever his lover/s/wife/wives shout/s out "Put in !!!!"

[winston]

Global Trend: The Russian Resurgence
John Mauldin's Outside the Box

If the Russian Bear has indeed emerged from its post-Soviet hibernation to regain global prominence, that means big things for your portfolio. From the punishingly obvious war with Georgia last summer, to the more subtle - but equally powerful - shut off of natural gas to Ukraine and Europe, Russia is making it abundantly clear that they want to be global players again.

http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/j ... gence.aspx

[winston]

Renowned global investor Jim Rogers said he's keeping his money out of weakening Russia - saying there is "a good chance Russia will continue to disintegrate into more than one country" in a Bloomberg Television interview.

"I am not optimistic about the continuous stability of Russia," Rogers said.

[millionairemind]

Russian Banks Seek Government Role in $400 Billion Debt Talks
Email | Print | A A A
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... =worldwide
By Torrey Clark and Garfield Reynolds

Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian banks asked the government to moderate talks to restructure $400 billion of loans to foreign banks falling due within four years, said the head of the Russian Association of Regional Banks.

The association wrote to the Russian government after talking with banks including HSBC Plc that had sought clarity about the capacity of some companies to meet obligations, Anatoly Aksakov, the association’s president, said in a telephone interview from Moscow today. The government hasn’t responded, he said.

“It would be most effective if the debt were restructured so it’s clear to everyone, creditors and borrowers, how the debt will be paid,” Aksakov said. “The government has the money. Some companies and banks have rather large hard currency liabilities on their balance sheets.”

Speculation of European bank losses on Russian loans drove declines in the euro against the dollar and yen today. Russia has pledged more than $200 billion in emergency funding as plunging oil prices push the world’s biggest energy supplier into its worst economic crisis since Boris Yeltsin’s government defaulted on $40 billion of domestic debt in 1998.

[winston]

Russian fears mount as IMF warns recovery foundering

The IMF has warned that economic recovery efforts are foundering, as Russia forecast its first recession since the 1998 financial collapse and the United States tried to breathe life into its economy.

Stock markets around the world also fell sharply, reflecting growing fears among investors that rescue moves by US President Barack Obama will not be enough to steer the world's biggest economy out of a prolonged recession.

In Russia, the economic downturn has led to warnings about increased social unrest and political instability. The 1998 crisis wiped out the earnings of millions of people and sparked massive anti-government protests.

''The forecast has worsened to a 2.2 percent contraction in gross domestic product'' for this year, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach was quoted as saying.

The cut in the GDP forecast came a day after the statistics office said that industrial production in the once-booming economy plunged by 16 percent last month compared with January last year – its worst fall for 15 years.

Adding to global fears about the scale and duration of the economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that recovery efforts launched by the world's top economies are being undermined by blighted bank balances.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

[LenaHuat]

Putin had already sent troops to Eastern Russia to suppress demonstrations over the floundering economy.

[iam802]

Ukraine news...but I will file it here for now.

===
UPDATE 2-Ukrainian security service raids gas firm HQ

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/id ... 1220090304

By Pavel Polityuk

KIEV, March 4 (Reuters) - Armed men burst into the headquarters of Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz on Wednesday in what the SBU security service said was part of a criminal inquiry.

Both Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) said the raid could threaten Ukraine's latest payment for Russian gas, due by the weekend. Ukraine is the main transit route for Russian gas exports to Europe, and a price dispute between the two neighbours disrupted supplies to many countries in January.

"A standard investigation is now proceeding. Why make such a fuss?" SBU spokeswoman Maryna Ostapenko said by telephone.

"This is an investigative group, not people in masks. And let no one at Naftogaz tell lies by saying they weren't told about it. Everyone knew that a group would be taking out documents....This is all within the framework of the law."

Naftogaz was at the heart of the January dispute with Russia that led to gas cuts for millions of people in southeast Europe before Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko clinched a supply deal in which she accepted a considerable rise in prices for Ukraine.

Naftogaz has pledged to pay Gazprom for February's supplies in the coming days.

The SBU is responsible to President Viktor Yushchenko, Tymoshenko's close ally in the 2004 pro-Western Orange Revolution but now at odds with her on virtually all issues.

The president has criticised the contract clinched by Tymoshenko in January as a "defeat" for Ukraine but has made no suggestion it could be reviewed or overturned.

Tymoshenko was holding talks in Paris on Wednesday.


A Reuters witness said the men entering Naftogaz headquarters were wearing black uniforms and helmets with visors.

"At the moment, it is clear that the building is sealed off. There are other units standing in the courtyard," Naftogaz spokesman Valentyn Zemlyansky told reporters.

"It is only from news reports that we know that the SBU is conducting some sort of investigation. But how can you call this an investigation when they are carrying weapons?"

A senior Naftogaz official told reporters the security services were searching for original copies of the new gas contract -- vital to ensure payment for supplies.

Serhiy Davydenko, head of Naftogaz's legal department, said investigators were "expecting to come away with the original documents signed between Naftogaz and Gazprom in January in Moscow.

"If we don't have these contracts, then Naftogaz cannot bring the gas through customs or the transit of gas. It cannot carry out its obligations under these contracts."

The customs service earlier said it had legally taken over 11 billion cubic metres of gas owned by RosUkrEnergo -- a gas intermediary between Russia and Ukraine that had been slammed by Tymoshenko as corrupt.

The contract with Gazprom eliminated RosUkrEnergo as a supply middleman between the two countries.

Naftogaz's acting head had planned a morning meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko on Wednesday but the meeting was cancelled.

[iam802]

Putin Threatens to Cut Ukraine Gas Flow in Two Days

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... fer=europe

By Daryna Krasnolutska and Stephen Bierman

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin threatened to cut Russian gas flows to Ukraine, the main transit route for a quarter of Europe’s supply, in two days if February supplies aren’t paid for.

“If, as a result of the use of the security services and the arrest of company officials, the payment isn’t made, it will lead to a stoppage of our deliveries,” Putin said during a government meeting broadcast on state television today.

OAO Gazprom, Russia’s gas exporter, said today it has received $310 million of the $360 million that Ukrainian state energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy owes for February. Naftogaz has until March 7 to pay the rest under a contract the two sides signed in January.

“The pending $50 million will be accumulated and sent to Russia either today or tomorrow,” Ukrainian Deputy Chief of Presidential Staff Oleksandr Shlapak said by e-mail.

Ukraine’s state security service yesterday raided Naftogaz’s Kiev offices as part of a probe into company’s acquisition of 7.4 billion hrynias ($884 million) worth of gas meant for shipment to Europe. The security service failed today to enter the offices of Naftogaz’s pipeline unit DK UkrTransGaz.

“They wanted to get in and get access to documents but we prevented them,” Naftogaz spokesman Ilya Savvin said by phone.

Gazprom and Naftogaz signed accords on Jan. 19 that ended a dispute that disrupted deliveries from Russia via Ukraine to the European Union for about two weeks. Moscow-based Gazprom reduced deliveries to Ukraine by half last March because of nonpayment.

[LenaHuat]

PM Putin's personal assets are now made public:-

住房面积77平方米，还有一个停车位。拥有两辆分别产于1960年和1965年的伏尔加汽车，以及一辆1987年产的拖车。拥有圣彼得堡银行的230份股票(1997年认购，当时每股1卢布)。2008年的年收入为462.2万卢布(约14万美元)，外加军人退休金10.06万卢布(约3048美元)……

这是谁的财产？不好意思，这是俄罗斯前总统、现总理普京的家庭财产状况

From ifeng.com