The Moscow Times

The Crisis: Electricity Providers Face Bankruptcy
Electricity suppliers across the country are cracking down as the number of delinquent private and corporate customers surges, as the dilapidated industry is mired in debt linked to unpaid consumer bills and the multibillion-dollar investment programs that investors signed onto during the privatization of Unified Energy System, which wrapped up just weeks before the financial crisis struck.

News

Early Promise in Ukraine Gas Talks
By Anatoly Medetsky, Anna Smolchenko / Staff Writers Russia and Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement Thursday night on a gradual rise in gas prices over the next three years, in talks overshadowed by political infighting in Kiev and Ukraine’s support of Georgia in its August war with Russia.

SPS Finds New Place Closer to Kremlin
By Francesca Mereu, Natalya Krainova / Staff Writers Union of Right Forces on Thursday opted to disband the party and join up with two others to form a new pro-business party that would seek cooperation with the Kremlin.

Graft-Fighting Lawyer Harassed by Police
By Francesca Mereu / Staff Writer Lawyer Inna Yermoshkina gave little thought to the two dozen police officers waiting near the entrance of her apartment building when she returned home one evening in May. After all, she thought, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Politkovskaya Case Hits Court
The Moscow Times The Prosecutor General's office has completed its investigation into the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya and sent the case to court, Interfax reported Thursday.

Zenit Denies Links to Mafia Match Fixing
Reuters Zenit St. Petersburg distanced itself on Thursday from reports of an alleged attempt by Russian mafia figures to fix last season’s UEFA Cup semifinal between the Russian football club and Bayern Munich.

Teacher Kills Self After 5 Pupils Die in Collapse
By John Wendle / Staff Writer The teacher in the Orenburg region whose five pupils died when a section of their school collapsed has committed suicide, authorities said Thursday.

News in Brief
New Nuclear Weapon HopesGeorgian Village Set AblazeEU Vows Action on PiratesAir Force's Mega-ManeuversOrange Teamwork Talks

Business

Gazprom, E.On Agree to Asset Swap
Combined Reports Germany’s E.On on Thursday agreed to swap part of its stake in Gazprom for an interest in a field that will help the gas monopoly fill the Nord Stream pipeline to Europe under the Baltic Sea.

Usmanov's Miner Pulls IPO Plans
The Moscow Times Metalloinvest, the country’s biggest iron ore producer, has scrapped plans to hold an IPO this year, its chief executive was quoted as saying Thursday.

Yakunin Celebrates RZD Anniversary
By Max Delany / Staff Writer Amid toasts and celebration, the railway chief says the company is facing tougher times.

Putin's Refinancing Bill Sent to Duma
Reuters The State Duma will debate a package of measures Friday to support financials markets, help firms refinance foreign debts and boost banks’ liquidity.

Survey Finds 43 IPOs Canceled in 2008
Reuters As many as 43 companies in the Commonwealth of Independent States have canceled stock floats this year, and a short-term recovery in the IPO market is unlikely, consultancy PBN said in a survey Thursday.

Central Bank Has Repo Rates Cut
Reuters The Central Bank has insisted that rates for commercial repo funding are lowered, and it is monitoring daily how much money three major banks pass on to smaller institutions, first deputy chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said Thursday. Commercial repo rates with shares used as collateral had risen as high as 22 percent during the height of the liquidity crunch and stock market collapse that hit Russia last month, Ulyukayev said. ""We insisted that they be lowered,"" he said, adding later that current rates of around 18 percent were ""sensible."" Ulyukayev also said the Central Bank was monitoring how much money Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank are passing on to smaller institutions. The Central Bank will be allowed to lend money to credit-rated institutions without collateral, in part replacing funding now provided by the Finance Ministry. ""These are credits with no real backing. That is risk [and it] must be understood,"" Ulyukayev said.

Corporate Debt Keeps Ruble Low
Bloomberg The ruble held near what analysts regard as the weak end of its trading range against the dollar-euro basket on speculation that the global credit crisis is forcing Russian companies to pay off debt.

Urals Energy Shares Fall on Venture Talk
Bloomberg Urals Energy fell the most since listing in 2005 after the oil explorer said it was considering ""different options"" for the Taas-Yuriakh asset in Siberia.

Revalued Property Sinks LSR Profit 99%
Combined Reports Construction and real estate firm LSR Group reported a 99 percent fall in first-half net profit Thursday because of property revaluation amid an increasingly gloomy outlook for the real estate market.

Risky Lenders Told Not to Expect Help
By Maria Levina / Special to The Moscow Times Russian banks were told last year that they were engaging in dangerous lending practices, and the Central Bank is prepared to go only so far to help them out of their difficulties now, a senior Central Bank official said Thursday.

TNK-BP Managers Pull CEO Lawsuit
The Moscow Times A group of Russian managers at TNK-BP on Thursday withdrew a lawsuit against chief executive Robert Dudley that accused him of violating labor rights, the employees' lawyer said.

Oil Output Ticks Up in September
Reuters The country's oil output continued rising modestly in September but remained down year on year, while exports recovered after a slump in the previous month, Energy Ministry data showed Thursday.

Business in Brief
Polyus Shares Fall 14.7%SocGen's Pledge to RosbankAlfa Bank Sues RTMMaslov Quits Post at TNPIntegra to Drill for TNK-BPBelarussian Tax OverhaulNovatek Buys Back GDRs

Opinion

Michele A. Berdy: Nothing to Snivel At
I'm still trying to get a handle on Dmitry Medvedev's presidential speaking style. I had pegged it as stiffly formal until August, when he suddenly started peppering his speech with derogatory references to Mikheil Saakashvili and Georgians that sounded like they came from the lips of his presidential predecessor.

Fighting Financial Fires With Blini
From its peak on May 19 to its lowest point on Sept. 17, the Russian stock market has fallen by almost 58 percent. This is its largest decline since the crash of 1998.

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