Hello,
RBC, 20.11.2007, Moscow 12:10:14.An hour and a half into today’s special dollar trading session for tomorrow deals, the weighted average exchange rate stood at 24.43 RUR/USD. The official rate for November 21 can therefore be revised RUR0.07 lower. Combined with yesterday’s RUR0.02 drop, the dollar has lost RUR0.09, or almost 0.4 percent against the ruble in two days. The US currency’s noticeable decline on MICEX can be attributed to the euro’s steep increase against the dollar on international exchanges, where it is now trading at nearly USD1.4755, up at least 0.8 percent from around USD1.4630 at midday on Monday. As a result, trading activity was high at the UTS, with the trade volume at USD778m as of 11:30 a.m., and the average deal size at a considerable USD2.4m.
RBC, 20.11.2007, Moscow 11:49:04.The Russian stock market opened with a rise in most traded securities. On MICEX, almost all stocks edged up 0.5 percent on average, while Norilsk Nickel, Rostelecom, and MTS climbed 1 percent. On the RTS, MTS shares traded 1.8 percent above the level of Monday’s close against the backdrop of the upcoming release of the company’s Q3 financial statement under US GAAP. Analysts believe that the Russian market is likely to increase in morning trade against the background of higher US stock indices. Meanwhile, the RTS index is expected to reach a new resistance level of 2,175 points. Some experts note that the Russian market may slide in the next couple of days. However, it a rally is anticipated on the market before the year-end. Russian stocks have been in high demand by Russian and foreign investors, which resulted in higher liquidity.
RBC, 20.11.2007, Moscow 10:21:55.Foreign investment in Russia amounted to $87.9bn in January-September 2007, which is 2.5 times greater than in the same period a year earlier, the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) reported today. Direct investments in Russia’s economy stood at $19.644bn, having increased by 91.3 percent from the previous showing for the first nine months of 2006. Other investments surged by a factor of 2.7 to $66.745bn. Foreign capital accrued in Russia climbed 52.2 percent to $197.8bn. The Netherlands, the UK, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, France, Germany, and the US are Russia’s main investors, accounting for 85.5 percent of total foreign investments in the country.
RBC, 19.11.2007, Moscow 17:20:35.The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) has once again invited OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, Igor Borisov, a member of the CEC, told journalists today. He noted that Russia was willing to show ODIHR’s observers all polling stations in the country, regardless of the time and place they named. Borisov added that he had met with consultants from the Embassies of the EU countries and discussed the situation.
RBC, 20.11.2007, Moscow 13:08:02.Gazprom will step up direct natural gas supplies to end consumers on the European market, the Russian gas giant’s Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told the Russian Gas 2007 conference in Moscow today. He explained that such supplies made it possible to make a profit from sales of natural gas along the entire supply chain, from production to consumption. Medvedev reiterated that, as part of the European Union’s market liberalization requirements, major European companies were obligated to hand over part of their existing export contracts to other companies. As a result, when renewing a contract with Gaz de France in 2006, the French company reserved 1.5bn cubic meters of gas for Gazprom, which the Russian company later sold through its own network of sales agencies to European end consumers. A similar contract was also signed with Italy’s ENI, providing for a gradual increase in Gazprom’s direct sales to 3bn cubic meters by 2010. Similar contracts signed in 2006 and 2007, the Russian gas giant’s subsidiaries have also started direct gas deliveries to Austrian, Czech, and Bulgarian consumers.
That is the news for today, Real exciting isn’t it?
Kyle
comments always welcome.