Futuristic Eskimo
All Star
Poitier banned
Another Big Win For Putin!!!
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88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
George Soros: Russia is 'a mafia state'
Billionaire investor and philanthropist Georges Soros Billionaire investor and philanthropist Georges Soros talks to FRANCE 24 about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin. He also shares his concerns about the challenges facing the EU.
“We have to recognise that the European Union itself which is a noble, well-intended experiment in international governance has failed and has not delivered what it promised”, he regrets. He warns that some European leaders now “look to Russia as a role model.”
http://www.france24.com/en/20141108..._ref=partage_aef&aef_campaign_date=2014-11-11
interview in link, also discusses midterm election
Billionaire investor and philanthropist Georges Soros Billionaire investor and philanthropist Georges Soros talks to FRANCE 24 about the threat posed by Vladimir Putin. He also shares his concerns about the challenges facing the EU.
“We have to recognise that the European Union itself which is a noble, well-intended experiment in international governance has failed and has not delivered what it promised”, he regrets. He warns that some European leaders now “look to Russia as a role model.”
http://www.france24.com/en/20141108..._ref=partage_aef&aef_campaign_date=2014-11-11
interview in link, also discusses midterm election
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Cold War is back on
Ghost_In_A_Shell
Talk No Jutsu
Cold War is back on
we won't have any allies this time , not with the EU situation..............
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
I think between occupation and gas the choice is pretty clear.
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Apple Could Swallow the Whole Russian Stock Market. Take a Look
By Srinivasan Sivabalan Nov 13, 2014 7:00 PM ET
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Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) – In today’s “Bart Chart,” Bloomberg’s Mark Barton takes a look at the valuation of Apple shares compared to the Russian stock market. He speaks on “Countdown.” (Source: Bloomberg)
If you owned Apple Inc. (AAPL), and sold it, you could purchase the entire stock market of Russia, and still have enough change to buy every Russian an iPhone 6 Plus.
The CHART OF THE DAY shows the total market capitalization of all public companies in the world’s largest country slipped below that of the world’s most-valued company for the first time on record. The gap, at $121 billion on Nov. 12, is about the price of 143 million contract-free 64-gigabyte iPhones, based on Apple Store prices.
The value of Russian equities has slumped $234 billion to $531 billion this year, while Apple gained $147 billion to $652 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The technology company’s innovation and brand value attract investors, while Russia’s political conflicts, sanctions and the threat of economic stagnation next year make them nervous, according to Vadim Bit-Avragim, a portfolio manager who helps oversee about $4 billion at Kapital Asset Management LLC in Moscow.
“Apple works with shareholders to maximize returns and is based where property is protected by law,” Bit-Avragim said. “In Russia, the legislative protection for property is not as good, most state-run companies have poor corporate governance, resources are concentrated in state hands and borrowing costs are shooting up. After all this, when you get involved in conflicts with your neighbors, it becomes very hard to persuade investors from all over the world to invest here.”
Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
An Apple Inc. stores in Hong Kong.
Russia faces a 70 percent chance of recession in the next 12 months, economists surveyed by Bloomberg project. The country is buckling under sanctions punishing its involvement in Ukraine, while a plunging ruble stokes inflation and the sinking oil price erodes export revenue.
Russia, the 20th largest among the world’s major markets, is not the only one Apple has surpassed. The company, which forecasts a record holiday-sales quarter and has $155 billion in cash, is also bigger than 17th-ranked Singapore and 18th-ranked Italy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...l?hootPostID=9ef479edba1afc0a729fdbf98116753e
By Srinivasan Sivabalan Nov 13, 2014 7:00 PM ET
54 Comments Email Print
Save
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) – In today’s “Bart Chart,” Bloomberg’s Mark Barton takes a look at the valuation of Apple shares compared to the Russian stock market. He speaks on “Countdown.” (Source: Bloomberg)
If you owned Apple Inc. (AAPL), and sold it, you could purchase the entire stock market of Russia, and still have enough change to buy every Russian an iPhone 6 Plus.
The CHART OF THE DAY shows the total market capitalization of all public companies in the world’s largest country slipped below that of the world’s most-valued company for the first time on record. The gap, at $121 billion on Nov. 12, is about the price of 143 million contract-free 64-gigabyte iPhones, based on Apple Store prices.
The value of Russian equities has slumped $234 billion to $531 billion this year, while Apple gained $147 billion to $652 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The technology company’s innovation and brand value attract investors, while Russia’s political conflicts, sanctions and the threat of economic stagnation next year make them nervous, according to Vadim Bit-Avragim, a portfolio manager who helps oversee about $4 billion at Kapital Asset Management LLC in Moscow.
“Apple works with shareholders to maximize returns and is based where property is protected by law,” Bit-Avragim said. “In Russia, the legislative protection for property is not as good, most state-run companies have poor corporate governance, resources are concentrated in state hands and borrowing costs are shooting up. After all this, when you get involved in conflicts with your neighbors, it becomes very hard to persuade investors from all over the world to invest here.”
Photographer: Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
An Apple Inc. stores in Hong Kong.
Russia faces a 70 percent chance of recession in the next 12 months, economists surveyed by Bloomberg project. The country is buckling under sanctions punishing its involvement in Ukraine, while a plunging ruble stokes inflation and the sinking oil price erodes export revenue.
Russia, the 20th largest among the world’s major markets, is not the only one Apple has surpassed. The company, which forecasts a record holiday-sales quarter and has $155 billion in cash, is also bigger than 17th-ranked Singapore and 18th-ranked Italy.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...l?hootPostID=9ef479edba1afc0a729fdbf98116753e
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Russia Braces for 'Catastrophic' Drop in Oil Prices
By Stepan Kravchenko and Henry Meyer Nov 14, 2014 8:23 AM ET
134 Comments Email Print
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Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Snow rests on fuel pumps at a gas station in Ufa, Russia.
Related
President Vladimir Putin said Russia's economy, battered by sanctions and a collapsing currency, faces a potential “catastrophic” slump in oil prices.
Such a scenario is “entirely possible, and we admit it,” Putin told the state-run Tass news service before attending this weekend’s Group of 20 summit inBrisbane, Australia, according to a transcript e-mailed by the Kremlin today. Russia’s reserves, at more than $400 billion, would allow the country to weather such a turn of events, he said.
Crude prices have fallen by almost a third this year, undercutting the economy in Russia, the world’s largest energy exporter. Even the central bank’s forecast of zero growth next year may be in danger as the International Energy Agency forecasts a deepening rout in oil prices as the market enters a period of weaker demand.
Brent crude, the grade traders look at for pricing Russia’s Urals main export blend, has collapsed into a bear market as leading members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut production and U.S. output climbed to the highest level in three decades because of the shale boom.
Brent is heading for its eighth weekly decline after sliding below $80 for the first time in four years. Futures were at $78.29 a barrel in London today, down 6.1 percent this week and 29 percent this year.
Photographer: Lan Hongguang/Xinhua/Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin. The decline in oil prices is exacting a toll on... Read More
Oil Consumption
Oil consumption will slide by about 1 percent to 92.6 million barrels a day in the first quarter from the current three-month period, the IEA, a Paris-based adviser to 29 nations, said in a monthly market report today.
Declining export revenue from oil and natural gas and the central bank’s attempts to shore up the ruble are threatening to exhaust public finances. The non-oil deficit exceeds 10 percent of economic output at a time when the central bank’s defense of the ruble has cut reserves by a fifth from last year’s peak. Still, the currency’s slide helps compensate to an extent as foreign-currency is converted into a larger amount of rubles for the budget.
With $421 billion in international reserves, Russia has a “big enough” buffer to meet all social commitments and maintain budgetary and economy stability, Putin said. The value of the stockpile last week extended its slide to the longest since 2008 as the monetary authority attempted to smooth the ruble’s decline.
“A country like ours finds the situation easier to cope with,” Putin said. “Why? Because we are producers of oil and gas and we handle our gold and currency reserves and government reserves sparingly.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-14/putin-says-russia-preparing-for-catastrophic-oil-slump.html
@Domingo Halliburton
By Stepan Kravchenko and Henry Meyer Nov 14, 2014 8:23 AM ET
134 Comments Email Print
Save
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Snow rests on fuel pumps at a gas station in Ufa, Russia.
Related
President Vladimir Putin said Russia's economy, battered by sanctions and a collapsing currency, faces a potential “catastrophic” slump in oil prices.
Such a scenario is “entirely possible, and we admit it,” Putin told the state-run Tass news service before attending this weekend’s Group of 20 summit inBrisbane, Australia, according to a transcript e-mailed by the Kremlin today. Russia’s reserves, at more than $400 billion, would allow the country to weather such a turn of events, he said.
Crude prices have fallen by almost a third this year, undercutting the economy in Russia, the world’s largest energy exporter. Even the central bank’s forecast of zero growth next year may be in danger as the International Energy Agency forecasts a deepening rout in oil prices as the market enters a period of weaker demand.
Brent crude, the grade traders look at for pricing Russia’s Urals main export blend, has collapsed into a bear market as leading members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut production and U.S. output climbed to the highest level in three decades because of the shale boom.
Brent is heading for its eighth weekly decline after sliding below $80 for the first time in four years. Futures were at $78.29 a barrel in London today, down 6.1 percent this week and 29 percent this year.
Photographer: Lan Hongguang/Xinhua/Pool/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin. The decline in oil prices is exacting a toll on... Read More
Oil Consumption
Oil consumption will slide by about 1 percent to 92.6 million barrels a day in the first quarter from the current three-month period, the IEA, a Paris-based adviser to 29 nations, said in a monthly market report today.
Declining export revenue from oil and natural gas and the central bank’s attempts to shore up the ruble are threatening to exhaust public finances. The non-oil deficit exceeds 10 percent of economic output at a time when the central bank’s defense of the ruble has cut reserves by a fifth from last year’s peak. Still, the currency’s slide helps compensate to an extent as foreign-currency is converted into a larger amount of rubles for the budget.
With $421 billion in international reserves, Russia has a “big enough” buffer to meet all social commitments and maintain budgetary and economy stability, Putin said. The value of the stockpile last week extended its slide to the longest since 2008 as the monetary authority attempted to smooth the ruble’s decline.
“A country like ours finds the situation easier to cope with,” Putin said. “Why? Because we are producers of oil and gas and we handle our gold and currency reserves and government reserves sparingly.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-14/putin-says-russia-preparing-for-catastrophic-oil-slump.html
@Domingo HalliburtonBig bank, take little bank 
Domingo Halliburton
Handmade in USA
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
ASIA & PACIFIC
World Leaders Snub Putin at G20, Exile Him to 'Social Siberia'
By Liz Fields
November 15, 2014 | 11:25 am
Russian President Vladimir Putin was reportedly set to walk out of the G20 summit in Australia a day early after drawing a series of rebukes over Ukraine and threats of further sanctions from Western leaders, but a Kremlin spokesman now says Putin plans to stay.
A member of Putin's delegation told Reuters that Putin was planning to cut out on a working session Sunday during the second half of the two-day world leaders forum because he had business to attend to in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later denied reports of Putin's early exit. "This is wrong," Peskov said. "The president is taking part in all the (G20) events."
Putin has received a cool welcome since arriving in Brisbane over the weekend, receiving terse words from fellow delegates, including President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
During a speech at Queensland University ahead of the summit, Obama blasted Russia's involvement in escalating the conflict in Ukraine, which has so far killed over 4,000 people, calling it a "threat to the world."
Russian warships speed towards Australia ahead of tense G20 summit. Read more here.
US President Barack Obama delivered a speech at the University of Queensland on Saturday, November 15, ahead of the G20 leaders' summit. Video courtesy ABC Australia.
The US leader also commiserated with Australians over the "appalling shoot-down" of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine by suspected Moscow-backed rebels in July. All 298 people on board died in the attack, including 38 Australians.
"As your ally and friend, America shares the grief of these Australian families and we share the determination of your nation for justice and accountability," Obama said.
Later at the summit, Putin received another social blow from Harper as he reached out to shake the Canadian Prime Minister's hand.
"I guess I'll shake your hand, but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine," Harper said to Putin, according to the prime minister's spokesman, Jason MacDonald.
"I can say that he did not respond positively," MacDonald wrote of Putin's reaction in an email to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy indicated separately that European leaders would later discuss possible further financial sanctions against Russia over its alleged military escalations and support of the separatist uprising in Ukraine.
"Russia still has the opportunity to fulfill its Minsk agreements and choose the path of de-escalation, which could allow sanctions to be rolled back," Von Rompuy said, referencing the September 5 ceasefire agreement signed between pro-Russian separatists, Kiev, and Moscow. "If it does not do so however, we are ready to consider additional action."
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations about its involvement in Ukraine, including that it sent thousands of troops and weapons across the border this summer. But these denials were again brushed off by Western leaders over the weekend.
Cameron also weighed in on the issue at the summit, saying that if the world continues to "see Russian troops and Russian tanks inside Ukraine," then there would "have to be a very different relationship" between Moscow and Europe.
Later, as leaders assembled for the "family photo," Putin was placed on the far outer right of the other heads of state, and away from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who threatened to "shirtfront" rugby tackle the Russian leader last month over MH17.
Local media designated Putin's banishment to the edge of the frame as relegation to "social Siberia," although Abbott, who has a diplomatic edge as the host leader of the G20, was all smiles and handshakes with Putin in earlier photo opportunities throughout the day.
We asked four legendary Australian activists why G20 will be riot free. Read more here.
https://news.vice.com/article/world...e-him-to-social-siberia?utm_source=vicenewsfb
World Leaders Snub Putin at G20, Exile Him to 'Social Siberia'
By Liz Fields
November 15, 2014 | 11:25 am
Russian President Vladimir Putin was reportedly set to walk out of the G20 summit in Australia a day early after drawing a series of rebukes over Ukraine and threats of further sanctions from Western leaders, but a Kremlin spokesman now says Putin plans to stay.
A member of Putin's delegation told Reuters that Putin was planning to cut out on a working session Sunday during the second half of the two-day world leaders forum because he had business to attend to in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later denied reports of Putin's early exit. "This is wrong," Peskov said. "The president is taking part in all the (G20) events."
Putin has received a cool welcome since arriving in Brisbane over the weekend, receiving terse words from fellow delegates, including President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
During a speech at Queensland University ahead of the summit, Obama blasted Russia's involvement in escalating the conflict in Ukraine, which has so far killed over 4,000 people, calling it a "threat to the world."
Russian warships speed towards Australia ahead of tense G20 summit. Read more here.
US President Barack Obama delivered a speech at the University of Queensland on Saturday, November 15, ahead of the G20 leaders' summit. Video courtesy ABC Australia.
The US leader also commiserated with Australians over the "appalling shoot-down" of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine by suspected Moscow-backed rebels in July. All 298 people on board died in the attack, including 38 Australians.
"As your ally and friend, America shares the grief of these Australian families and we share the determination of your nation for justice and accountability," Obama said.
Later at the summit, Putin received another social blow from Harper as he reached out to shake the Canadian Prime Minister's hand.
"I guess I'll shake your hand, but I have only one thing to say to you: You need to get out of Ukraine," Harper said to Putin, according to the prime minister's spokesman, Jason MacDonald.
"I can say that he did not respond positively," MacDonald wrote of Putin's reaction in an email to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy indicated separately that European leaders would later discuss possible further financial sanctions against Russia over its alleged military escalations and support of the separatist uprising in Ukraine.
"Russia still has the opportunity to fulfill its Minsk agreements and choose the path of de-escalation, which could allow sanctions to be rolled back," Von Rompuy said, referencing the September 5 ceasefire agreement signed between pro-Russian separatists, Kiev, and Moscow. "If it does not do so however, we are ready to consider additional action."
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations about its involvement in Ukraine, including that it sent thousands of troops and weapons across the border this summer. But these denials were again brushed off by Western leaders over the weekend.
Cameron also weighed in on the issue at the summit, saying that if the world continues to "see Russian troops and Russian tanks inside Ukraine," then there would "have to be a very different relationship" between Moscow and Europe.
Later, as leaders assembled for the "family photo," Putin was placed on the far outer right of the other heads of state, and away from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who threatened to "shirtfront" rugby tackle the Russian leader last month over MH17.
Local media designated Putin's banishment to the edge of the frame as relegation to "social Siberia," although Abbott, who has a diplomatic edge as the host leader of the G20, was all smiles and handshakes with Putin in earlier photo opportunities throughout the day.
We asked four legendary Australian activists why G20 will be riot free. Read more here.
https://news.vice.com/article/world...e-him-to-social-siberia?utm_source=vicenewsfb
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Russia plans 'alternative Wikipedia'
14 November 2014 Last updated at 16:41 ET
Russia plans 'alternative Wikipedia'
Since its founding in 2001, Wikipedia has become one of the world's most popular websites
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Russia is planning an alternative version of the Wikipedia, the country's presidential library has said.
A statement said the initiative aimed to provide better information about Russia than is available on Wikipedia.
Analysis had shown that Wikipedia "does not have enough detailed and reliable information about Russian regions and the life of the country", it said.
Some 50,000 books and documents had been collected, it said, to portray Russia "objectively and accurately".
But the new site has some catching up to do - Wikipedia is the world's sixth most popular website. The Russian edition has more than one million entries.
The move comes amid increasing Kremlin control of the web.
In August, laws were enacted forcing bloggers with more than 3,000 daily readers to register with the mass media regulator.
And in March, websites run by opponents and critics of President Vladimir Putin were blocked.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30058048
14 November 2014 Last updated at 16:41 ET
Russia plans 'alternative Wikipedia'
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Russia is planning an alternative version of the Wikipedia, the country's presidential library has said.
A statement said the initiative aimed to provide better information about Russia than is available on Wikipedia.
Analysis had shown that Wikipedia "does not have enough detailed and reliable information about Russian regions and the life of the country", it said.
Some 50,000 books and documents had been collected, it said, to portray Russia "objectively and accurately".
But the new site has some catching up to do - Wikipedia is the world's sixth most popular website. The Russian edition has more than one million entries.
The move comes amid increasing Kremlin control of the web.
In August, laws were enacted forcing bloggers with more than 3,000 daily readers to register with the mass media regulator.
And in March, websites run by opponents and critics of President Vladimir Putin were blocked.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30058048
ANOTHER L 
The Yukos Affair: The Chase Is On
REUTERS/Ilya NaymushinRosneft oil.
JAWS dropped in July when a group of Yukos shareholders won a $50 billion arbitration award--20 times the previous record--against Russia for expropriating the oil company in 2004. The Kremlin had until November 11th to appeal against the ruling, by a tribunal in The Hague, and did indeed do so. It continues to maintain that it was not bound by the energy treaty under which the claim was brought, because it had signed but not ratified it. Though Russia's chances of getting the ruling reversed seem slim, the appeal process could grind on for 10 years.
Even so, GML, a holding company representing Russian shareholders of Yukos (except its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who gave up his interest in the firm), can start chasing Russia's assets in other countries by applying to their courts. It plans to start later this month in Britain, America, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The first targets will be "low-hanging fruit", such as state-owned art and buildings that are not used for strictly diplomatic purposes, says Tim Osborne, GML's executive director. Embassies, warships and other non-commercial sovereign assets are off-limits--though what is commercial and what is diplomatic can be a legal grey area.
The juicier fruit will be harder to reach: payments to or from Russia that are routed through Western financial centres, and the foreign assets of firms that are owned or controlled by the state, such as Rosneft, the oil giant that subsumed Yukos, and Gazprom, another energy giant. The asset-hunters will have to convince the courts that these entities are alter egos of the government. It may help that both companies are among the targets of Western sanctions against Russia, and that the arbitration panel viewed Rosneft as an agent of the state in the expropriation.
Such games of cat and mouse require formidable investigative firepower. GML has already spent $250m on lawyers and sleuths and is prepared to spend "as much again" in the asset-chasing phase, says Mr Osborne. He is confident the exercise will prove profitable, though the investors may recover far less than the full award.
Even if assets prove difficult to freeze or seize, those pursuing them can make a real nuisance of themselves, if they have deep pockets and determination. Witness the discomfort Argentina has suffered, including having to be careful where it lands the presidential plane, because of hedge funds chasing full payment on its defaulted sovereign bonds.
GML will also be aware of a successful precedent in Russia, albeit on a smaller scale. Franz Sedelmayer, a German businessman, won in arbitration after his security company was nationalised in 1994. He subsequently brought 140 cases against the Kremlin in Germany, France and Sweden. His attempts to seize Lufthansa's payments for flying over Russian territory, and Russian VAT refunds to Germany, both failed. But he has secured payment from the sale of flats and former trade-mission buildings in Sweden and Germany. In one case, Russia was forced to bid in an auction to hold on to its buildings.
The trick, says Mr Sedelmayer, is to find properties used for both diplomatic and commercial purposes and to persuade courts to waive immunity on account of mixed use. Twenty years on, he is close to receiving the last of the EUR6m ($7.5m) he is owed. But GML "is in for quite a ride", he says. "Moscow has long had a won't-pay-anybody attitude. They like to take stuff for free. Their strategy is to appeal at every stage, and when the process is exhausted, to bring a new suit on the same grounds to take us back to square one. It's a circus."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-yukos-affair-the-chase-is-on-2014-11#ixzz3JNrMqLq2
The Yukos Affair: The Chase Is On
- NOV. 16, 2014, 11:58 PM
- 1,282
- 3
JAWS dropped in July when a group of Yukos shareholders won a $50 billion arbitration award--20 times the previous record--against Russia for expropriating the oil company in 2004. The Kremlin had until November 11th to appeal against the ruling, by a tribunal in The Hague, and did indeed do so. It continues to maintain that it was not bound by the energy treaty under which the claim was brought, because it had signed but not ratified it. Though Russia's chances of getting the ruling reversed seem slim, the appeal process could grind on for 10 years.
Even so, GML, a holding company representing Russian shareholders of Yukos (except its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who gave up his interest in the firm), can start chasing Russia's assets in other countries by applying to their courts. It plans to start later this month in Britain, America, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The first targets will be "low-hanging fruit", such as state-owned art and buildings that are not used for strictly diplomatic purposes, says Tim Osborne, GML's executive director. Embassies, warships and other non-commercial sovereign assets are off-limits--though what is commercial and what is diplomatic can be a legal grey area.
The juicier fruit will be harder to reach: payments to or from Russia that are routed through Western financial centres, and the foreign assets of firms that are owned or controlled by the state, such as Rosneft, the oil giant that subsumed Yukos, and Gazprom, another energy giant. The asset-hunters will have to convince the courts that these entities are alter egos of the government. It may help that both companies are among the targets of Western sanctions against Russia, and that the arbitration panel viewed Rosneft as an agent of the state in the expropriation.
Such games of cat and mouse require formidable investigative firepower. GML has already spent $250m on lawyers and sleuths and is prepared to spend "as much again" in the asset-chasing phase, says Mr Osborne. He is confident the exercise will prove profitable, though the investors may recover far less than the full award.
Even if assets prove difficult to freeze or seize, those pursuing them can make a real nuisance of themselves, if they have deep pockets and determination. Witness the discomfort Argentina has suffered, including having to be careful where it lands the presidential plane, because of hedge funds chasing full payment on its defaulted sovereign bonds.
GML will also be aware of a successful precedent in Russia, albeit on a smaller scale. Franz Sedelmayer, a German businessman, won in arbitration after his security company was nationalised in 1994. He subsequently brought 140 cases against the Kremlin in Germany, France and Sweden. His attempts to seize Lufthansa's payments for flying over Russian territory, and Russian VAT refunds to Germany, both failed. But he has secured payment from the sale of flats and former trade-mission buildings in Sweden and Germany. In one case, Russia was forced to bid in an auction to hold on to its buildings.
The trick, says Mr Sedelmayer, is to find properties used for both diplomatic and commercial purposes and to persuade courts to waive immunity on account of mixed use. Twenty years on, he is close to receiving the last of the EUR6m ($7.5m) he is owed. But GML "is in for quite a ride", he says. "Moscow has long had a won't-pay-anybody attitude. They like to take stuff for free. Their strategy is to appeal at every stage, and when the process is exhausted, to bring a new suit on the same grounds to take us back to square one. It's a circus."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-yukos-affair-the-chase-is-on-2014-11#ixzz3JNrMqLq2