By John Helmer in Moscow   Confucius say – why buy a treasure from a man, if you can wait for him to lose it. The turmoil now affecting Oleg Deripaska’s United Company Rusal has become a critical test of the difference between the Russian and Chinese approach to resource concessions and national company value. […]

by John Helmer - Friday, November 20th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Land-based delivery of Gazprom’s natural gas is more than holding its own in the European gas market against competing seaborne deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to a report from Gazprom in Moscow yesterday. This says that Gazprom’s exports to the European Union (EU) increased by 19.4% in the […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow   This report is powered by kryptonite! Be an Interactive Investigator! Call in if you have news on Superboy’s latest deal! Add your leads to the record of his business acumen!

by John Helmer - Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
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We interrupt this news bulletin to bring you a broadcast from Captain Obvious on location live above the Kremlin

by John Helmer - Monday, November 16th, 2009
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Put a little Hong Kong whitewash on your Rusal brush, and look at the difference it makes to your teeth…   Before After By John Helmer in Moscow A left turn and quick walk out of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) building on the waterfront in Central Hong Kong will take you to the […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, November 15th, 2009
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We interrupt this news bulletin to bring you a broadcast from Captain Obvious on location live above the Kremlin

by John Helmer - Thursday, November 12th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The Russian grain trade is complaining that there has been another outbreak of the weevil wars delaying large consignments of Russian export wheat from being landed and sold at ports in Syria and Egypt, ostensibly for reason of infestation. This time, two vessels and 110,000 tonnes of grain, originally loaded […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, November 12th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Yury Privalov, the former head of Sovcomflot’s London-based shipping operations, wound up his testimony in the High Court this week with half a dozen new allegations undocumented before in court, or since his release on parole from a Moscow prison on October 10, 2008. Testifying over eight days by videolink […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, November 12th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The Russian government has decided to underwrite the refinancing of pipemaker TMK’s loan portfolio with state repayment guarantees. TMK is controlled by Dmitry Pumpyansky (see right figure). A curt statement, issued Tuesday by Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy, Andrei Dementyev, said “the necessary papers are being processed by the […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow A flurry of sales and revenue claims posted on the Alrosa website have yet to be substantiated by the chief executive, Fyodor Andreyev, or his spokesman, Andrei Polyakov. Their silence four months into Andreyev’s term in office recalls the claims, issued in June and July by the former chief executive, […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
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