Another Big Win For Putin!!!
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Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Germany Blocks Delivery of Military Parts to Russia
By MELISSA EDDYAUG. 4, 2014
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By MELISSA EDDYAUG. 4, 2014
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RELATED COVERAGE- European Sanctions Force Russian Carrier to Suspend FlightsAUG. 3, 2014
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Coordinated Sanctions Aim at Russia’s Ability to Tap Its Oil ReservesJULY 29, 2014
A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Berlin would be open to expanding the existing European Union sanctions to include already signed deals. “The European Council decided what it decided,” the spokesman, Georg Streiter, told reporters on Monday. “But if at the end of the negotiations there were to be an improvement, we would welcome it.”
Germany suspended the deal for the training center parts in March, after Russia annexed Crimea. The action on Monday makes the suspension permanent.
The move could further strain already difficult relations between Moscow and Berlin, which has repeatedly urged the Kremlin to use its influence over the separatists in eastern Ukraine to halt the fighting. For weeks, Berlin had appeared reluctant to support stiffer sanctions against Moscow, but lost patience after extended delays in starting an international investigation into what caused a Malaysian plane to crash over disputed territory last month.
According to the German government, the training center, which had been scheduled to open later this year with the capacity to train 30,000 soldiers, would not be able to function without the final parts.
The decision to halt the deal, estimated by the Economics Ministry to be worth 123 million euros, or about $165 million, will also put the German government under increased pressure from Germany’s powerful industrial sector, which has warned that economic sanctions against Russia would hamper growth and increase unemployment.
But Mr. Gabriel has said that the long-term consequences of inaction on the part of the European Union would be greater than the short-term loss in growth incurred by punitive measures.
“If the lesson in Europe is that you can instigate a civil war in a neighboring country and nothing happens, I think that would set us back decades, and cost much more,” Mr. Gabriel said in an interview with the television broadcaster ZDF on Sunday. Europe, he added, cannot act only “as if we were an economic-interest group. We are a political union, and must ensure peace on the continent.”
Under German law, the government has the right to revoke export licenses under certain circumstances. It was not immediately clear whether Rheinmetall, which remains in talks with the German government, would seek compensation for losses stemming from the decision.
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f2bbcb6c-1b31-11e4-a633-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz39ROwgYb1
ugust 3, 2014 11:27 pm
Aeroflot subsidiary grounded by European sanctions
By Kathrin Hille in Moscow
©Bloomberg
European sanctions have forced Aeroflot to ground its new low-cost subsidiary Dobrolet, Russia’s national carrier said on Sunday in the most direct fallout yet of the EU’s punitive measures against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
Dobrolet will temporarily suspend all flights from Monday after European counterparties annulled aircraft insurance agreements, stopped providing aeronautical information and have refused to fulfil leasing, repair and maintenance agreements, Aeroflot said.
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ON THIS STORY
IN AIRLINES
The EU said on July 30 that as a subsidiary of a Russian state-owned airline, Dobrolet had exclusively operated flights between Moscow and Simferopol since Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “It therefore facilitates the integration of the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and undermines Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the EU said.
The Russian government, business leaders and economists have during the past two weeks focused on the introduction of broader sanctions against Russia by both the US and the EU.
Those measures, which prohibit a number of Russian banks and energy companies to sell new bonds or equity with a maturity longer than 90 days in either US or European capital markets, are expected to have a bigger affect on the Russian economy in the longer term than the targeted measures with which the sanctions started.
However, Dobrolet’s case shows that the damage from targeted measures to individual companies can be devastating.
Aeroflot, a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, had set up Dobrolet, Russia’s first national low-cost carrier, in October 2013 and only started flights this year.
Aeroflot said Dobrolet flights would be operated by Orenburg Air, another Aeroflot affiliate, to Simferopol until August 20 and to Volgograd until mid-September.
Passengers booked on Dobrolet flights to other Russian destinations would receive a full refund.
Aeroflot did not give details on which companies had suspended maintenance and other services and cancelled insurance contracts.
The Crimean tourism sector is struggling as Ukrainians – once one of its main sources of arrivals – stay away following the territory’s annexation by Russia.
In order to prop up the industry, the Russian government subsidises air traffic from Russian cities to Crimea.
Aeroflot, Transaero, which is Russia’s largest privately owned airline, and a number of smaller Russian airlines all operate flights to Simferopol.
Gennady Timchenko, a Russian billionaire close to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was among the first to be targeted with US sanctions, is also having trouble using his private jet because of the restrictions, according to Itar-Tass.
In an exclusive interview with the Russian news agency, Mr Timchenko said Gulfstream had withdrawn technical support for the aircraft, therefore suspending his flights.
Mr Timchenko was quoted as saying that the US company was prohibited from having contacts with him. “They cannot discuss either future supplies of already ordered jets or the operation of this one.”
Mr Timchenko was quoted as saying the sanctions had added some inconveniences to his life. “The way sanctions work sometimes border on the ridiculous,” Itar-Tass quoted Mr Timchenko saying.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f2bbcb6c-1b31-11e4-a633-00144feabdc0.html#axzz39RNw3wyI
ugust 3, 2014 11:27 pm
Aeroflot subsidiary grounded by European sanctions
By Kathrin Hille in Moscow
European sanctions have forced Aeroflot to ground its new low-cost subsidiary Dobrolet, Russia’s national carrier said on Sunday in the most direct fallout yet of the EU’s punitive measures against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
Dobrolet will temporarily suspend all flights from Monday after European counterparties annulled aircraft insurance agreements, stopped providing aeronautical information and have refused to fulfil leasing, repair and maintenance agreements, Aeroflot said.
More
ON THIS STORY
- Sberbank says sanctions harm global finance
- RBS curbs its exposure to Russia
- SocGen shakes off hit on Russia business
- Lombard Russia sanctions / Electra / Bankers’ oath
- City companies wary over Russian links
IN AIRLINES
- Iberia adds to fleet as outlook improves
- Capacity glut hurts Lufthansa profits
- UN body reviews rules on conflict zone flights
- Airbus suffers superjumbo setback
The EU said on July 30 that as a subsidiary of a Russian state-owned airline, Dobrolet had exclusively operated flights between Moscow and Simferopol since Russia’s annexation of Crimea. “It therefore facilitates the integration of the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and undermines Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the EU said.
The Russian government, business leaders and economists have during the past two weeks focused on the introduction of broader sanctions against Russia by both the US and the EU.
Those measures, which prohibit a number of Russian banks and energy companies to sell new bonds or equity with a maturity longer than 90 days in either US or European capital markets, are expected to have a bigger affect on the Russian economy in the longer term than the targeted measures with which the sanctions started.
However, Dobrolet’s case shows that the damage from targeted measures to individual companies can be devastating.
Aeroflot, a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, had set up Dobrolet, Russia’s first national low-cost carrier, in October 2013 and only started flights this year.
Aeroflot said Dobrolet flights would be operated by Orenburg Air, another Aeroflot affiliate, to Simferopol until August 20 and to Volgograd until mid-September.
Passengers booked on Dobrolet flights to other Russian destinations would receive a full refund.
Aeroflot did not give details on which companies had suspended maintenance and other services and cancelled insurance contracts.
The Crimean tourism sector is struggling as Ukrainians – once one of its main sources of arrivals – stay away following the territory’s annexation by Russia.
In order to prop up the industry, the Russian government subsidises air traffic from Russian cities to Crimea.
Aeroflot, Transaero, which is Russia’s largest privately owned airline, and a number of smaller Russian airlines all operate flights to Simferopol.
Gennady Timchenko, a Russian billionaire close to Russian President Vladimir Putin who was among the first to be targeted with US sanctions, is also having trouble using his private jet because of the restrictions, according to Itar-Tass.
In an exclusive interview with the Russian news agency, Mr Timchenko said Gulfstream had withdrawn technical support for the aircraft, therefore suspending his flights.
Mr Timchenko was quoted as saying that the US company was prohibited from having contacts with him. “They cannot discuss either future supplies of already ordered jets or the operation of this one.”
Mr Timchenko was quoted as saying the sanctions had added some inconveniences to his life. “The way sanctions work sometimes border on the ridiculous,” Itar-Tass quoted Mr Timchenko saying.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f2bbcb6c-1b31-11e4-a633-00144feabdc0.html#axzz39RNw3wyI
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
31 July 2014 Last updated at 19:05 ET
Russia enacts 'draconian' law for bloggers and online media
Russia's parliament has voted through a series of internet laws
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It means bloggers with more than 3,000 daily readers must register with the mass media regulator, Roskomnadzor, and conform to the regulations that govern the country's larger media outlets.
Internet companies will also be required to allow Russian authorities access to users' information.
One human rights group called the move "draconian".
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The internet is the last island of free expression in Russia”
Hugh Williamson,Human Rights Watch
The law was approved by Russia's upper house of parliament in April.
It includes measures to ensure that bloggers cannot remain anonymous, and states that social networks must maintain six months of data on its users.
The information must be stored on servers based in Russian territory, so that government authorities can gain access.
Russia has blocked the sites of opponents such as Garry Kasparov
Critics see it as the latest in a series of recent moves to curb internet freedom.
'Free expression'
Hugh Williamson, of New York-based Human Rights Watch, has called the law "another milestone in Russia's relentless crackdown on free expression".
"The internet is the last island of free expression in Russia and these draconian regulations are clearly aimed at putting it under government control," he added.
Opposition figures have used the internet to air their views, with some gaining millions of followers.
Commentators opposing Vladimir Putin often face restrictions in broadcast outlets and newspapers.
Analysis: Famil Ismailov, news editor, BBCRussian.com
Russia's president was once a staunch defender of internet freedoms
Russian bloggers are bracing themselves for the moment when Russia's new "information security law" comes into force on 1 August. Some already share advice on how to use proxy servers in order to access social media sites that, in their view, are under threat of being closed.
It is hard to see how the law will be enforced. The servers for most of the popular social media platforms that many Russians use are based outside Russia.
Many popular bloggers are already looking for, and apparently finding, ways to "cheat" the feature that counts page visits and keep their daily unique visitor numbers just under 3000, or to make sure that the statistics are hidden altogether.
Anton Nossik, who is considered Russia's "internet guru", wrote in his LiveJournal blog that the new law didn't threaten individual bloggers directly, but provided legal grounds to block popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LiveJournal and Google.
"The issue of banning all these platforms in Russia is a political one and it will be decided by only one person", Mr Nossik wrote, with a thinly veiled reference to President Vladimir Putin.
Critics blocked
Earlier in the year, Russia enacted a law that gave the government powers to block websites without explanation.
In March, Moscow blocked the blog of Mr Navalny, along with two news sites and a organisation run by Garry Kasparov - a vocal critic of the Russian government.
In a statement, Russia's prosecutor general's office said the blocks were imposed because of the sites' role in helping stage illegal protests.
Earlier this week, Twitter blocked access to an anti-Kremlin account that often publishes leaked government documents, following a request by Russia's federal communications agency Roskomnadzor.
Mr Putin said Russian search engine Yandex is controlled by foreign intelligence
'CIA project'
For many years, Russia had relatively lax internet laws.
However Moscow has recently changed its tune, with Mr Putin branding the internet an ongoing "CIA project".
He also claimed that the popular Russian search engine Yandex was controlled by foreign intelligence.
Two years ago, Russia enacted a law enabling authorities to blacklist and force certain websites offline without a trial.
The government said the legislation was designed to protect children from harmful internet content, such as pro-suicide or pornography websites.
On Thursday, lawyers for US intelligence officer Edward Snowden said the whistleblower had filed for refugee status in Russia.
Mr Snowden received temporary shelter in Russia last year.
He had evaded US authorities after he leaked classified government documents revealing mass surveillance programmes undertaken by the NSA in the US and GCHQ in the UK.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28583669
Russia enacts 'draconian' law for bloggers and online media
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
- Russia backs law on web data storage
- Russian social network founder fired
- Google challenges Russia video ban
It means bloggers with more than 3,000 daily readers must register with the mass media regulator, Roskomnadzor, and conform to the regulations that govern the country's larger media outlets.
Internet companies will also be required to allow Russian authorities access to users' information.
One human rights group called the move "draconian".
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
The internet is the last island of free expression in Russia”
Hugh Williamson,Human Rights Watch
The law was approved by Russia's upper house of parliament in April.
It includes measures to ensure that bloggers cannot remain anonymous, and states that social networks must maintain six months of data on its users.
The information must be stored on servers based in Russian territory, so that government authorities can gain access.
Critics see it as the latest in a series of recent moves to curb internet freedom.
'Free expression'
Hugh Williamson, of New York-based Human Rights Watch, has called the law "another milestone in Russia's relentless crackdown on free expression".
"The internet is the last island of free expression in Russia and these draconian regulations are clearly aimed at putting it under government control," he added.
Opposition figures have used the internet to air their views, with some gaining millions of followers.
Commentators opposing Vladimir Putin often face restrictions in broadcast outlets and newspapers.
Analysis: Famil Ismailov, news editor, BBCRussian.com
Russian bloggers are bracing themselves for the moment when Russia's new "information security law" comes into force on 1 August. Some already share advice on how to use proxy servers in order to access social media sites that, in their view, are under threat of being closed.
It is hard to see how the law will be enforced. The servers for most of the popular social media platforms that many Russians use are based outside Russia.
Many popular bloggers are already looking for, and apparently finding, ways to "cheat" the feature that counts page visits and keep their daily unique visitor numbers just under 3000, or to make sure that the statistics are hidden altogether.
Anton Nossik, who is considered Russia's "internet guru", wrote in his LiveJournal blog that the new law didn't threaten individual bloggers directly, but provided legal grounds to block popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LiveJournal and Google.
"The issue of banning all these platforms in Russia is a political one and it will be decided by only one person", Mr Nossik wrote, with a thinly veiled reference to President Vladimir Putin.
Critics blocked
Earlier in the year, Russia enacted a law that gave the government powers to block websites without explanation.
In March, Moscow blocked the blog of Mr Navalny, along with two news sites and a organisation run by Garry Kasparov - a vocal critic of the Russian government.
In a statement, Russia's prosecutor general's office said the blocks were imposed because of the sites' role in helping stage illegal protests.
Earlier this week, Twitter blocked access to an anti-Kremlin account that often publishes leaked government documents, following a request by Russia's federal communications agency Roskomnadzor.
'CIA project'
For many years, Russia had relatively lax internet laws.
However Moscow has recently changed its tune, with Mr Putin branding the internet an ongoing "CIA project".
He also claimed that the popular Russian search engine Yandex was controlled by foreign intelligence.
Two years ago, Russia enacted a law enabling authorities to blacklist and force certain websites offline without a trial.
The government said the legislation was designed to protect children from harmful internet content, such as pro-suicide or pornography websites.
On Thursday, lawyers for US intelligence officer Edward Snowden said the whistleblower had filed for refugee status in Russia.
Mr Snowden received temporary shelter in Russia last year.
He had evaded US authorities after he leaked classified government documents revealing mass surveillance programmes undertaken by the NSA in the US and GCHQ in the UK.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28583669
Trajan
Veteran
Not really. They looted the country during the Yeltsin years. Putin wasn't having that...that's why he was so popular.
It was the west (UK/Germany) treating the Russian Oligarchs like ''exiled businessmen'' being bullied by bad Putin and refusing to extradite them.
Trajan
Veteran
Futuristic Eskimo
All Star
The view that Putin has reined in the oligarchs for the good of the country is illusory at best. He's reined them in for his own political purposes and cracked down on any opposition hard to solidify his power. I wouldnt say that the Russian people have reaped too many benefits from these moves, though. Wealth is still extremely concentrated at the top.
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Putin Sanctions Drive Away Banks as Loans Dry Up: Russia Credit
By Sally Bakewell and Stephen Morris Aug 4, 2014 10:04 AM ET
29 Comments Email Print
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No Russian companies received loans in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs or euros last month, the first time this has happened in at least five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Global banks fell away in the second quarter, with lending plunging 42 percent from a year earlier to $4.7 billion as the Ukraine conflict worsened after President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March. That was the least for any quarter since 2012.
International lenders are weighing the political and financial consequences of doing business with Russian companies after the U.S. and European Union stepped up sanctions on the nation’s banking and energy industries because of the crisis in Ukraine. OAO VTB Bank’s plan to get a $1.5 billion loan led by Barclays Plc will probably be scrapped, lawyers said last week. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Citigroup Inc. said Aug. 1 they’re scaling back their dealings with the country.
“Russia is not likely to be a good place to do business for quite some time,” Philip Hanson, an associate fellow at the Chatham House research group in London, said by phone on Aug. 1. “We’re going to see continuing trouble that’s going to have its economic consequences particularly for international banks.”
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Increasing Margins
About $28 billion was wiped from the value of the three Russian banks on the Micex stock index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. OAO Sberbank, the nation’s biggest lender, lost $22.8 billion, the data show.
Russian companies paid an average interest margin of 287 basis points, or 2.87 percentage points, more than benchmark rates for internationally syndicated loans in the second quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 194 basis points in the same period a year earlier.
The spread on loans for investment-grade western European companies dropped to an average of 66 basis points in April through June from 122 basis points a year earlier.
While Russian companies have obtained at least $600 billion in debt and equity financing from international capital markets since the country emerged from its 1998 default, EU sanctions announced last week ban five state-controlled lenders from selling new shares and bonds.
U.S. Sanctions
European banks may also steer clear of syndicated loans to the country to avoid potential penalties, even though such lending hasn’t been penalized, according to Jonathan Fisher, a London-based barrister specializing in financial services at Devereux Chambers.
Bank of America and Nomura Holding Inc.’s electronic-trading unit Instinet temporarily banned trading in Russian energy stocks Rosneft and OAO Novatek last month after the U.S. sanctioned the firms over Russia’s policy on Ukraine, four people with knowledge of the matter said.
VTB, Russia’s second-biggest lender, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU, has sought a deal with lenders also including Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup.
“These sanctions are going to bite,” Fisher said July 31. “EU banks, wary of U.S. sanctions, won’t want to touch it and the U.S. banks plainly won’t breach their own laws.”
Glencore, Vitol
The U.S. extracted an $8.97 billion fine from BNP Paribas SA for deals that violated sanctions on Sudan, Iran and Cuba.
Last year, lenders were piling into the market, with Glencore International Plc and Vitol SA raising $8.3 billion to fund their crude-purchase deal with Rosneft. Billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov’s OAO Bashneft was able to reduce interest payments on a $600 million loan just months after obtaining the funds.
Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest energy company, may be forced to terminate an agreement for oil exploration with Rosneft because of escalating sanctions, analysts at Arctic Securities ASA and Swedbank First Securities said on Aug. 1.
While sanctioned companies have sufficient reserves to meet their short-term obligations, the restrictions could spur an “acceleration of capital flight and suppression of investment activity,” UralSib Capital analysts Alexey Devyatov, Natalia Berezina and Olga Sterina wrote in a report Aug. 1.
The central bank’s 2.5 percentage points of interest-rate increases since the incursion into Crimea may cause larger damage to the economy than sanctions, UralSib said.
“Western banks have been in a hands-off mode with Russian banks and corporates, even with entities that were not subject to sanctions,” Evghenia Sleptsova, a London-based Russia and CIS senior analyst at the Roubini Global Economics research consultancy, said by phone Aug. 1. “Even if the sanctions momentum stalls, in the medium term access to Western capital markets will remain restricted.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...away-banks-as-loans-dry-up-russia-credit.html
By Sally Bakewell and Stephen Morris Aug 4, 2014 10:04 AM ET
29 Comments Email Print
Save
Related
- Will Latest Sanctions Force Russia to Retaliate?
- Russian Financial Sector Seen Focus of EU Sanctions
No Russian companies received loans in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs or euros last month, the first time this has happened in at least five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Global banks fell away in the second quarter, with lending plunging 42 percent from a year earlier to $4.7 billion as the Ukraine conflict worsened after President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March. That was the least for any quarter since 2012.
International lenders are weighing the political and financial consequences of doing business with Russian companies after the U.S. and European Union stepped up sanctions on the nation’s banking and energy industries because of the crisis in Ukraine. OAO VTB Bank’s plan to get a $1.5 billion loan led by Barclays Plc will probably be scrapped, lawyers said last week. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Citigroup Inc. said Aug. 1 they’re scaling back their dealings with the country.
“Russia is not likely to be a good place to do business for quite some time,” Philip Hanson, an associate fellow at the Chatham House research group in London, said by phone on Aug. 1. “We’re going to see continuing trouble that’s going to have its economic consequences particularly for international banks.”
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Increasing Margins
About $28 billion was wiped from the value of the three Russian banks on the Micex stock index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. OAO Sberbank, the nation’s biggest lender, lost $22.8 billion, the data show.
Russian companies paid an average interest margin of 287 basis points, or 2.87 percentage points, more than benchmark rates for internationally syndicated loans in the second quarter, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 194 basis points in the same period a year earlier.
The spread on loans for investment-grade western European companies dropped to an average of 66 basis points in April through June from 122 basis points a year earlier.
While Russian companies have obtained at least $600 billion in debt and equity financing from international capital markets since the country emerged from its 1998 default, EU sanctions announced last week ban five state-controlled lenders from selling new shares and bonds.
U.S. Sanctions
European banks may also steer clear of syndicated loans to the country to avoid potential penalties, even though such lending hasn’t been penalized, according to Jonathan Fisher, a London-based barrister specializing in financial services at Devereux Chambers.
Bank of America and Nomura Holding Inc.’s electronic-trading unit Instinet temporarily banned trading in Russian energy stocks Rosneft and OAO Novatek last month after the U.S. sanctioned the firms over Russia’s policy on Ukraine, four people with knowledge of the matter said.
VTB, Russia’s second-biggest lender, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU, has sought a deal with lenders also including Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup.
“These sanctions are going to bite,” Fisher said July 31. “EU banks, wary of U.S. sanctions, won’t want to touch it and the U.S. banks plainly won’t breach their own laws.”
Glencore, Vitol
The U.S. extracted an $8.97 billion fine from BNP Paribas SA for deals that violated sanctions on Sudan, Iran and Cuba.
Last year, lenders were piling into the market, with Glencore International Plc and Vitol SA raising $8.3 billion to fund their crude-purchase deal with Rosneft. Billionaire Vladimir Evtushenkov’s OAO Bashneft was able to reduce interest payments on a $600 million loan just months after obtaining the funds.
Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest energy company, may be forced to terminate an agreement for oil exploration with Rosneft because of escalating sanctions, analysts at Arctic Securities ASA and Swedbank First Securities said on Aug. 1.
While sanctioned companies have sufficient reserves to meet their short-term obligations, the restrictions could spur an “acceleration of capital flight and suppression of investment activity,” UralSib Capital analysts Alexey Devyatov, Natalia Berezina and Olga Sterina wrote in a report Aug. 1.
The central bank’s 2.5 percentage points of interest-rate increases since the incursion into Crimea may cause larger damage to the economy than sanctions, UralSib said.
“Western banks have been in a hands-off mode with Russian banks and corporates, even with entities that were not subject to sanctions,” Evghenia Sleptsova, a London-based Russia and CIS senior analyst at the Roubini Global Economics research consultancy, said by phone Aug. 1. “Even if the sanctions momentum stalls, in the medium term access to Western capital markets will remain restricted.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...away-banks-as-loans-dry-up-russia-credit.html
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Many Russians stranded as tour firm Labirint fails
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria: The country's Black Sea coast is popular with Russians
Continue reading the main story
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A company statement (in Russian) blamed the move on a deterioration in the rouble exchange rate and the "negative political and economic situation".
There are signs that EU-US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis are hurting the wider economy, including Western investment in Russia.
A Russian tyc00n says his executive jet is grounded because of US sanctions.
Billionaire businessman Gennady Timchenko - close to President Vladimir Putin - told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency (in Russian) that Gulfstream was no longer servicing his jet and the pilots were not allowed to use its navigation equipment.
Gulfstream executive jets are popular among the world's business elite
He is reckoned to have a fortune of $14.4bn (£11.4bn), owning big stakes in gas and infrastructure firms. He is among dozens of Russians hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
An agency assisting Russian tourists, Turpomoshch (Tour Help), said in a statement (in Russian) it is now trying to book Russians onto return flights in various countries, including Bulgaria, Egypt and Tunisia.
Labirint's sudden failure on Saturday left some 27,000 Russian tourists without return tickets, Turpomoshch said.
Anxious Labirint customers are bombarding Turpomoshch with calls at a rate of five per minute, the agency says, adding that "our managers are working flat-out" to help them.
Another reason Labirint gave for its move was the Russian state's advice that military or security service officials should not go abroad.
Last month another Russian tour operator, Neva, also went bust.
In other sanctions-related developments:
Budget airline Dobrolet - hit by EU sanctions - is no longer flying
The EU and US have blacklisted dozens of Russian individuals and firms considered to be undermining Ukrainian sovereignty. The first round of sanctions was imposed in March after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. Top pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are also blacklisted, hit by Western visa bans and asset freezes.
Mr Timchenko said he was used to flying worldwide to do business and had lived abroad for long periods in the past 25 years, but "now in effect I've stopped travelling abroad".
He was a founder of Gunvor, a global commodities trading firm, but sold his 43% stake just before he was hit by sanctions in March.
Mr Timchenko has a 23.5% stake in Novatek, Russia's second biggest gas producer, as well as controlling stakes in Volga Group and Stroytransgaz Group, which carry out major infrastructure projects.
EU-US financial sanctions are also affecting his business, he said, explaining that he no longer uses Visa or Mastercard credit cards.
"I'm left with my Swiss medical insurance card, international driver's licence and Finnish ID card, which is like a passport. Also now I've got a Chinese Union card. As soon as the sanctions came in I got myself that card... and it works brilliantly!" he said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28637794
@Blackking @Futuristic Eskimo @Napoleon @tmonster @Ill @Domingo Halliburton
Continue reading the main story
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- New EU sanctions hit top Putin aides
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A company statement (in Russian) blamed the move on a deterioration in the rouble exchange rate and the "negative political and economic situation".
There are signs that EU-US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis are hurting the wider economy, including Western investment in Russia.
A Russian tyc00n says his executive jet is grounded because of US sanctions.
Billionaire businessman Gennady Timchenko - close to President Vladimir Putin - told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency (in Russian) that Gulfstream was no longer servicing his jet and the pilots were not allowed to use its navigation equipment.
He is reckoned to have a fortune of $14.4bn (£11.4bn), owning big stakes in gas and infrastructure firms. He is among dozens of Russians hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
An agency assisting Russian tourists, Turpomoshch (Tour Help), said in a statement (in Russian) it is now trying to book Russians onto return flights in various countries, including Bulgaria, Egypt and Tunisia.
Labirint's sudden failure on Saturday left some 27,000 Russian tourists without return tickets, Turpomoshch said.
Anxious Labirint customers are bombarding Turpomoshch with calls at a rate of five per minute, the agency says, adding that "our managers are working flat-out" to help them.
Another reason Labirint gave for its move was the Russian state's advice that military or security service officials should not go abroad.
Last month another Russian tour operator, Neva, also went bust.
In other sanctions-related developments:
- The German government halts a contract - worth 100m euros ($134m; £80m) to the Rheinmetall firm - that would have delivered a military training camp to Russia, housing 30,000 soldiers annually
- Dobrolet, a Russian budget airline, grounds its planes. A subsidiary of Aeroflot, it had been flying from Moscow to Crimea after Russia's annexation of the peninsula, but was named on an EU sanctions list last week
- Russia's food hygiene service Rospotrebnadzor bans imports of "Kentucky Gentleman", a brand of American whiskey, citing traces of phthalates - organic chemicals - in the drink
- The chairman of UK firm JCB, which exports tractors, diggers and other heavy equipment, says that "if sanctions restrict sales of machines and spare parts there will be obviously be a major impact on JCB, which could put hundreds of British jobs at risk".
The EU and US have blacklisted dozens of Russian individuals and firms considered to be undermining Ukrainian sovereignty. The first round of sanctions was imposed in March after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. Top pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are also blacklisted, hit by Western visa bans and asset freezes.
Mr Timchenko said he was used to flying worldwide to do business and had lived abroad for long periods in the past 25 years, but "now in effect I've stopped travelling abroad".
He was a founder of Gunvor, a global commodities trading firm, but sold his 43% stake just before he was hit by sanctions in March.
Mr Timchenko has a 23.5% stake in Novatek, Russia's second biggest gas producer, as well as controlling stakes in Volga Group and Stroytransgaz Group, which carry out major infrastructure projects.
EU-US financial sanctions are also affecting his business, he said, explaining that he no longer uses Visa or Mastercard credit cards.
"I'm left with my Swiss medical insurance card, international driver's licence and Finnish ID card, which is like a passport. Also now I've got a Chinese Union card. As soon as the sanctions came in I got myself that card... and it works brilliantly!" he said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28637794
@Blackking @Futuristic Eskimo @Napoleon @tmonster @Ill @Domingo Halliburton
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Russia: Siberian autonomy web page shut down
News from Elsewhere......media reports from around the world, found by BBC Monitoring
"Let's Show Moscow Siberia!"
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More News from Elsewhere
The prosecutor-general's office ordered the Vkontakte site to block the March to Federate Siberia page, which now carries a message saying: "Access is limited on the orders of the law-enforcement agencies." The page was shut down after discussion of the campaign began to build online, with some people comparing it to protests in Kiev that brought down Ukraine's pro-Russian government earlier this year.
The Vkontakte page called Enough of Feeding Moscow! says it wants to create a Siberian Republic with its own government that "can stand up for the region's interests" in Moscow. The campaign, which has been endorsed by writer and artist Artur Solomonov, says more of the money from Siberia's enormous oil, gas and mineral resources should be be spent for the benefit of local people - especially those who live in harsh Arctic and tundra conditions.
It calls for a march in Novosibirsk, Siberia's informal capital, on 17 August, the TJournal media website reports. Nearly 2,000 peoplehave agreed to join the march so far.
Online media in Russia and Ukraine picked up the story, and soon politicians joined the debate. Opposition MP Ilya Ponomarev - the only politician to vote against Russia's annexation of Crimea - tweeted in favour of the march, declaring "Siberia is Ours". Other supporters, such as artist Artem Loskutov, are drawing parallels with the separatists in eastern Ukraine - who enjoy the encouragement of the Russian government and media.
Vkontakte page blocked
But MP Nikolai Valuyev, loyal to President Vladimir Putin, dubbed the march the "first attempt of global efforts to promote separatism in Russia". Vkontakte began to see demands that the authorities investigate the campaign - some pointed to a law passed last month by Putin that imposes tough penalties for promoting "separatism" online.
Within days the prosecutor-general's office acted, and the Vkontakte page was gone - along with an interview Loskutov gave to the liberal website Slon. But the Siberians appear undaunted. They have set upanother VKontakte page, while it lasts, asked the mayor of Novosibirsk to have their demonstration, and are continuing their campaign on Facebook - beyond the reach of the Kremlin censors.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-28643523
That freedom
Continue reading the main story
More News from Elsewhere
- 'Web rehab' weans children off devices
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- Ukraine leaks Stalin's 'KGB secrets'
The prosecutor-general's office ordered the Vkontakte site to block the March to Federate Siberia page, which now carries a message saying: "Access is limited on the orders of the law-enforcement agencies." The page was shut down after discussion of the campaign began to build online, with some people comparing it to protests in Kiev that brought down Ukraine's pro-Russian government earlier this year.
The Vkontakte page called Enough of Feeding Moscow! says it wants to create a Siberian Republic with its own government that "can stand up for the region's interests" in Moscow. The campaign, which has been endorsed by writer and artist Artur Solomonov, says more of the money from Siberia's enormous oil, gas and mineral resources should be be spent for the benefit of local people - especially those who live in harsh Arctic and tundra conditions.
It calls for a march in Novosibirsk, Siberia's informal capital, on 17 August, the TJournal media website reports. Nearly 2,000 peoplehave agreed to join the march so far.
Online media in Russia and Ukraine picked up the story, and soon politicians joined the debate. Opposition MP Ilya Ponomarev - the only politician to vote against Russia's annexation of Crimea - tweeted in favour of the march, declaring "Siberia is Ours". Other supporters, such as artist Artem Loskutov, are drawing parallels with the separatists in eastern Ukraine - who enjoy the encouragement of the Russian government and media.
But MP Nikolai Valuyev, loyal to President Vladimir Putin, dubbed the march the "first attempt of global efforts to promote separatism in Russia". Vkontakte began to see demands that the authorities investigate the campaign - some pointed to a law passed last month by Putin that imposes tough penalties for promoting "separatism" online.
Within days the prosecutor-general's office acted, and the Vkontakte page was gone - along with an interview Loskutov gave to the liberal website Slon. But the Siberians appear undaunted. They have set upanother VKontakte page, while it lasts, asked the mayor of Novosibirsk to have their demonstration, and are continuing their campaign on Facebook - beyond the reach of the Kremlin censors.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-28643523
That freedom
damn them sanctions bodied them dudesMany Russians stranded as tour firm Labirint fails
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria: The country's Black Sea coast is popular with Russians
Continue reading the main story
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As many as 27,000 Russian tourists are stranded abroad after a Russian tour firm, Labirint, suspended operations.
- New EU sanctions hit top Putin aides
- Russian officials targeted by sanctions
- Malaysia plane crash: What we know
A company statement (in Russian) blamed the move on a deterioration in the rouble exchange rate and the "negative political and economic situation".
There are signs that EU-US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis are hurting the wider economy, including Western investment in Russia.
A Russian tyc00n says his executive jet is grounded because of US sanctions.
Billionaire businessman Gennady Timchenko - close to President Vladimir Putin - told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency (in Russian) that Gulfstream was no longer servicing his jet and the pilots were not allowed to use its navigation equipment.
Gulfstream executive jets are popular among the world's business elite
He is reckoned to have a fortune of $14.4bn (£11.4bn), owning big stakes in gas and infrastructure firms. He is among dozens of Russians hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
An agency assisting Russian tourists, Turpomoshch (Tour Help), said in a statement (in Russian) it is now trying to book Russians onto return flights in various countries, including Bulgaria, Egypt and Tunisia.
Labirint's sudden failure on Saturday left some 27,000 Russian tourists without return tickets, Turpomoshch said.
Anxious Labirint customers are bombarding Turpomoshch with calls at a rate of five per minute, the agency says, adding that "our managers are working flat-out" to help them.
Another reason Labirint gave for its move was the Russian state's advice that military or security service officials should not go abroad.
Last month another Russian tour operator, Neva, also went bust.
In other sanctions-related developments:
- The German government halts a contract - worth 100m euros ($134m; £80m) to the Rheinmetall firm - that would have delivered a military training camp to Russia, housing 30,000 soldiers annually
- Dobrolet, a Russian budget airline, grounds its planes. A subsidiary of Aeroflot, it had been flying from Moscow to Crimea after Russia's annexation of the peninsula, but was named on an EU sanctions list last week
- Russia's food hygiene service Rospotrebnadzor bans imports of "Kentucky Gentleman", a brand of American whiskey, citing traces of phthalates - organic chemicals - in the drink
- The chairman of UK firm JCB, which exports tractors, diggers and other heavy equipment, says that "if sanctions restrict sales of machines and spare parts there will be obviously be a major impact on JCB, which could put hundreds of British jobs at risk".
Budget airline Dobrolet - hit by EU sanctions - is no longer flying
The EU and US have blacklisted dozens of Russian individuals and firms considered to be undermining Ukrainian sovereignty. The first round of sanctions was imposed in March after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. Top pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are also blacklisted, hit by Western visa bans and asset freezes.
Mr Timchenko said he was used to flying worldwide to do business and had lived abroad for long periods in the past 25 years, but "now in effect I've stopped travelling abroad".
He was a founder of Gunvor, a global commodities trading firm, but sold his 43% stake just before he was hit by sanctions in March.
Mr Timchenko has a 23.5% stake in Novatek, Russia's second biggest gas producer, as well as controlling stakes in Volga Group and Stroytransgaz Group, which carry out major infrastructure projects.
EU-US financial sanctions are also affecting his business, he said, explaining that he no longer uses Visa or Mastercard credit cards.
"I'm left with my Swiss medical insurance card, international driver's licence and Finnish ID card, which is like a passport. Also now I've got a Chinese Union card. As soon as the sanctions came in I got myself that card... and it works brilliantly!" he said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28637794
@Blackking @Futuristic Eskimo @Napoleon @tmonster @Ill @Domingo Halliburton
Futuristic Eskimo
All Star
Dont worry. Gennady Timchenko has a new credit card. Everything will be fine in Russia.Many Russians stranded as tour firm Labirint fails
Sunny Beach, Bulgaria: The country's Black Sea coast is popular with Russians
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
As many as 27,000 Russian tourists are stranded abroad after a Russian tour firm, Labirint, suspended operations.
- New EU sanctions hit top Putin aides
- Russian officials targeted by sanctions
- Malaysia plane crash: What we know
A company statement (in Russian) blamed the move on a deterioration in the rouble exchange rate and the "negative political and economic situation".
There are signs that EU-US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis are hurting the wider economy, including Western investment in Russia.
A Russian tyc00n says his executive jet is grounded because of US sanctions.
Billionaire businessman Gennady Timchenko - close to President Vladimir Putin - told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency (in Russian) that Gulfstream was no longer servicing his jet and the pilots were not allowed to use its navigation equipment.
Gulfstream executive jets are popular among the world's business elite
He is reckoned to have a fortune of $14.4bn (£11.4bn), owning big stakes in gas and infrastructure firms. He is among dozens of Russians hit by sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
An agency assisting Russian tourists, Turpomoshch (Tour Help), said in a statement (in Russian) it is now trying to book Russians onto return flights in various countries, including Bulgaria, Egypt and Tunisia.
Labirint's sudden failure on Saturday left some 27,000 Russian tourists without return tickets, Turpomoshch said.
Anxious Labirint customers are bombarding Turpomoshch with calls at a rate of five per minute, the agency says, adding that "our managers are working flat-out" to help them.
Another reason Labirint gave for its move was the Russian state's advice that military or security service officials should not go abroad.
Last month another Russian tour operator, Neva, also went bust.
In other sanctions-related developments:
- The German government halts a contract - worth 100m euros ($134m; £80m) to the Rheinmetall firm - that would have delivered a military training camp to Russia, housing 30,000 soldiers annually
- Dobrolet, a Russian budget airline, grounds its planes. A subsidiary of Aeroflot, it had been flying from Moscow to Crimea after Russia's annexation of the peninsula, but was named on an EU sanctions list last week
- Russia's food hygiene service Rospotrebnadzor bans imports of "Kentucky Gentleman", a brand of American whiskey, citing traces of phthalates - organic chemicals - in the drink
- The chairman of UK firm JCB, which exports tractors, diggers and other heavy equipment, says that "if sanctions restrict sales of machines and spare parts there will be obviously be a major impact on JCB, which could put hundreds of British jobs at risk".
Budget airline Dobrolet - hit by EU sanctions - is no longer flying
The EU and US have blacklisted dozens of Russian individuals and firms considered to be undermining Ukrainian sovereignty. The first round of sanctions was imposed in March after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. Top pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are also blacklisted, hit by Western visa bans and asset freezes.
Mr Timchenko said he was used to flying worldwide to do business and had lived abroad for long periods in the past 25 years, but "now in effect I've stopped travelling abroad".
He was a founder of Gunvor, a global commodities trading firm, but sold his 43% stake just before he was hit by sanctions in March.
Mr Timchenko has a 23.5% stake in Novatek, Russia's second biggest gas producer, as well as controlling stakes in Volga Group and Stroytransgaz Group, which carry out major infrastructure projects.
EU-US financial sanctions are also affecting his business, he said, explaining that he no longer uses Visa or Mastercard credit cards.
"I'm left with my Swiss medical insurance card, international driver's licence and Finnish ID card, which is like a passport. Also now I've got a Chinese Union card. As soon as the sanctions came in I got myself that card... and it works brilliantly!" he said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28637794
@Blackking @Futuristic Eskimo @Napoleon @tmonster @Ill @Domingo Halliburton
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
Yeah, I'll wait for Poiter and the rest of the clown squad to square things up for me.
@Kritic @thekingsmen @PoitierYeah, I'll wait for Poiter and the rest of the clown squad to square things up for me.
The Coli SVR street team
