Russia 01 (May 08 - Jul 10)

[winston]

Russia out of recession

MOSCOW : Russia is out of recession and its economy will grow by two percent in the fourth quarter owing to a rise in oil prices, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was quoted as saying on Saturday.

"We now see that the Russian economy is starting to grow... it is out of recession," Kudrin told the Interfax news agency.

"In the fourth quarter, we already expect growth above two percent, mainly due to rising oil prices," he added.

"As long as oil prices range between 70 and 80 dollars per barrel, there will be growth," the finance minister said, claiming any drop off would be a result of market "speculation."

Kudrin said that is why the government had made its growth forecasts based on oil prices remaining at 58 to 60 dollars -- oil accounts for around 60 percent of Russia's total exports.

The Russian economy, which is also driven by exports of gas and other commodities, was badly hit by the global financial crisis after enjoying years of strong growth but officials have said the worst of the crisis might be over.

Earlier this month, Medvedev said the country's gross domestic product would shrink 7.5 percent this year, while Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has put the expected decline at around eight percent.

Source: AFP /ls

[boonchuan]

Delete

[winston]

Investors in love with Russia by Paul Ramscar
Monday, November 16, 2009

With a year-to-date performance at over 100 per cent, Russian stock markets are prompting shouts of "nazdrovia" around the cafes and bars of Russia's new investor-class.

For emerging market enthusiasts, and particularly the BRIC-followers, the case for a prosperous medium-term in Russia is gaining momentum.

The obvious question is: how sustainable is this current Russian-led regional prosperity?

Who better to ask than Palestinian- born, London-based Ghadir Abu Leil- Cooper, head of EMEA Equities at Barings?

Leil-Cooper manages Barings' Russian Fund as well as the more regionally focused Eastern Europe Fund (YTD +87.9 per cent on the September fact-find).

An Arabic-eye, tracking Eastern Europe's emergence from the comfort of recession-hit Western Europe.

For Leil-Cooper, Eastern Europe is playing "catch-up" with Western Europe, but the important conclusion is "that they will catch up."

This means that Leil-Cooper makes her investment decisions under the influence of the belief that if the Western Europeans can have mortgages, telephones, the internet, life insurance and fridges, so too, one day, will the Eastern Europeans.

After all, "they are well educated and underpaid," says Leil-Cooper adding: "The consumer in Eastern Europe is under-leveraged compared to his Western European counterpart, they can afford to borrow, the banks have the money, and that will provide an important growth engine."

Additionally, the big production businesses of Western Europe are going to look at Eastern Europe's educated and cheap work force and say; "I'll pitch my production tent here."

Such a trend, Leil-Cooper says, has high-level political support with funds being made available for the EU's new eastern acquisitions, funded by the taxes and coffers of the western states.

Such funding will support infrastructure, education, and all those expensive things the growing middle class will soon see as necessities.

Yet catching the west is not the only driver behind Leil-Cooper's eastern promise. Eastern Europe, and Russia in particular, also carry the typical BRIC population-based "consumption story".

For Leil-Cooper, Russia's consumption story is strengthened by its exports. The country is a major exporter of commodities.

The growth logic for Eastern Europe (and Russia particularly) may sound compelling, but with massive recent returns have investors missed the boat?

For Leil-Cooper, the show isn't over. "Eastern Europe has gone from super-cheap to good value."

But she does acknowledge risks like the usual emerging market risks, led by politics, particularly in Russia, "while interest rates in Turkey and recession in central Europe might also provide risks."

The Eastern Europe Fund is 58.7 per cent weighted towards Russia.

If weight betrays her favourite growth engines then the silver medal goes to Turkey (14.6 per cent of the fund), where Leil-Cooper says: "Of all my years looking at this market it has always been boom and bust, but it now looks really good."

The principal reason for confidence is embedded in low inflation and lower interest rates, allowing for lending nearer to what the fund manager calls "proper rates".

The bronze medal goes to Poland (7.3 per cent of the fund, pushing the Czech Republic at 6.9 per cent into fourth). For Leil-Cooper we have to respect Poland for being "one of the very few countries in Europe to grow its GDP over the last 12 months."

* Paul Ramscar is director - wealth management at Financial Partners, Hong Kong
E-mail: paul.ramscar@financial- partners.biz

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... 91116&fc=1

[LenaHuat]

I'm delighted that Russia has returned to engage this region actively. Opportunities will be created when they compete with the Chinese and Americans in Singapore. I luv this idea

Kenny made a posting about St Basil's Cathedral in his sponsored thread, "Man-made Wonders of the World".
Wow, the onions are coming to Singapore. We will have our first Russian Orthodox Church in ASEAN.
I can't stop

[LenaHuat]

24-hr Russian TV to beam free from 1 Dec @Starhub
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_456476.html

[kennynah]

i am starting a russian language school tomorrow...

and tonight...i need to find a russian girlfriend....

[millionairemind]

i am starting a russian language school tomorrow...

and tonight...i need to find a russian girlfriend....

$12K USD and a week in Moscow and you can get married to one...

[kennynah]

thanks for the tip...but not planning on having another wife

find a russian girl is to replace the french one...who's economic usefulness was depleted recently...hahahaha...

[winston]

Heard on Bloomberg:-

"If you dont have a billion dollars, you are a loser "

Quoted by a Russian Billionaire just before the Financial Tsunami ...

[winston]

I thought it was a mechanical fault..

=====================================

Terrorist attack on Russian train kills up to 39

• Russia train crash kills at least 39, nearly 100 injured
• 39 dead, 87 injured in Russia train derailment

UGLOVKA, Russia: A bomb derailed an elite passenger train speeding through the forest from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, killing up to 39 people and injuring nearly 100, Russian officials said on Saturday.

"We are indeed talking about a terrorist attack," Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the federal investigative committee, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. The committee said it had found bomb fragments at the scene.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/ ... 69/1/.html