Russia’s Incredible Shrinking Economy

Posted by Matt in December 13th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Economy, Financial, Russia, Bloomberg, Economic Growth, Economic News, Economist, Economists, Economy, Financial Crisis, Gdp, Gdp Growth, Global Financial Crisis, Lars, Market Expectations, Moscow Times, Rasmussen, Reuters, Russia, State Statistics, Statistics Service

On 9 December, Russia’s State Statistics Service revealed the GDP growth figures for the third quarter. And – lo and behold – they are “surprisingly bad”, “below market expectations”, etc. (Read the reports in The Moscow Times, Bloomberg and Reuters).
You might think that by now economists would no longer be surprised by the stream [...]

The Real Estate Crunch Comes to Russia

Posted by Matt in December 13th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Russia, Chief Export, Crunch, Defying Gravity, Financial Crisis, Full Force, Global Economic Crisis, Global Financial Crisis, Government Bonds, Long Time, LOST, moscow, Price Of Oil, Ruble, Russia Real Estate, Russian Companies, Russian Real Estate, Shares, Six Months, Three Quarters

The global economic crisis has hit Russia with full force, and property prices, especially in Moscow, are tumbling
Shares of Russian companies have lost nearly three-quarters of their value in six months. The price of government bonds is down by almost a quarter. The ruble is sliding, losing 20% of its value against the U.S. [...]

The Financial Crisis Deepens in Russia

Posted by Matt in December 13th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Economy, Financial, Russia, Andrei, Arrears, Crisis, Downturn, Financial Crisis, Global Financial Crisis, Investment Bank, kremlin, krisis, Kuznetsov, Russia, Russians, Strategist, Systemic Problem, Troika Dialog, Western Economies

Russians of all ages and classes are struggling to understand the krisis. “It has spread to the regions much faster than could be expected,” says Andrei Kuznetsov, a strategist at investment bank Troika Dialog. “Companies are complaining of low demand, payment arrears, and limited financing.”
That’s a sharp change from just a few weeks ago, when [...]

Signs of a Kremlin Fearful Of Unrest

Posted by Matt in December 13th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Russia, Authorities, Financial Crisis, Global Financial Crisis, kremlin, Massive Layoffs, moscow, Protests, Russia, Signs, Social Unrest, Sociologist, Unrest, Violence

Sociologist Yevgeny Gontmakher has painted a disturbing picture of what might emerge from the financial crisis in Russia.
As Gontmakher sees it, a provincial industrial town will see huge protests after massive layoffs at its main factory next year. The authorities scramble haphazardly to contain the unrest. Violence will spread, ultimately reaching Moscow.
The scenario, published under [...]