Posted on 06/08/2003 9:54:18 PM PDT by RussianConservative
Trade Surplus Soars
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The foreign trade surplus soared 38 percent to $24 billion in the first four months of 2003, year on year, as crude oil exports to Western countries rose 9 percent, the State Customs Committee said Thursday.
The country's robust foreign trade balance, which stood at $18.6 billion in the first quarter of 2003, has helped the Central Bank to build record-high foreign currency reserves, boding well for the country's creditworthiness.
"The foreign trade balance was positive and stood at $24 billion [in the January-April period of 2003] compared with $17.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2002," the committee said in a statement.
Subsistence Pensions
MOSCOW (Prime-Tass) -- An average monthly pension in Russia will exceed the monthly subsistence level for pensioners in 2004-06, according to Economic Development and Trade Ministry materials prepared for Thursday's government meeting.
Next year the average monthly pension is projected at 1,931 rubles ($63), while the subsistence level for pensioners is expected to be 1,900 rubles.
GDP Up 6.6%
MOSCOW (Prime-Tass) -- Gross domestic product rose 6.6 percent on the year in January-April, First Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Ivan Matyorov said Wednesday.
Matyorov also said industrial production was up 6.3 percent on the year in the period.
Nestle Baby Food Plant
MOSCOW (MT) -- Swiss food giant Nestle signed a deal this week for the purchase of 100 percent of the Vologda Baby Food Factory, Hans Gueldenberg, the managing director of Nestle Food LLC, said Wednesday at an investment conference organized by Renaissance Capital.
Nestle, which leads the domestic infant nutrition market, purchased the Vologda factory from Krueger Beteiligungs GmbH and the AMELITEA Trading Company, Ltd., which held equal shares in the factory.
Alexei Krivoshapko of United Financial Group put the value of the deal at $5 million to $6 million. The factory's sales were about $9 million last year, he said.
The deal is Nestle's second announced in as many weeks. In May the company said it would invest $120 million in a greenfield instant coffee factory in Timashevsk in the Krasnodar region.
Lust for Sao Tome Oil
LISBON, Portugal (Reuters) -- Russia and Britain said Tuesday that they want to help the tiny African nation of Sao Tome e Principe develop its rich oil reserves, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported.
"We plan to relaunch cooperation with Sao Tome e Principe, above all in the economic sector, as a way to reactivate our diplomatic relations," Lusa quoted Russia's new ambassador to Portugal, Andrei Kemasrsky, as saying.
Sao Tome and regional oil power Nigeria have drafted bidding guidelines for nine new offshore wells they are jointly developing. Studies have suggested the presence of billions of barrels of crude offshore.
First Bonduelle Factory
KRASNODAR, Southern Russia (Prime-Tass) -- France's Bonduelle, one of the world's leading producers of canned and frozen fruit and vegetables, launched the construction of its first factory in Russia on Tuesday in the southern Krasnodar region.
The cost of the factory is 30 million euros ($34.8 million), the company said.
The factory, based in the village of Novotitorovskaya, 15 kilometers from Krasnodar, will produce 60,000 tons of canned peas and corn per year.
Oil Output Soars
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Crude oil and gas condensate output rose from January to May by 11 percent to 167.98 million metric tons (8.15 million barrels per day) from 151.21 million metric tons (7.34 million bpd) in the first five months of 2002.
Industry sources said crude oil exports via state pipeline monopoly Transneft, including oil in transit from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, also climbed to 66.20 million metric tons (3.21 million bpd) from 62.74 million metric tons (3.05 million bpd) in the same period of 2002.
Industry sources close to the Energy Ministry reported preliminary oil production and export data for Yukos at 32.42 million metric tons, LUKoil at 31.76 million metric tons and Surgutneftegaz at 21.73 metric tons.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Global news and information provider Reuters Group PLC said Friday it was launching ruble trading on its Reuters Dealing 3000 Spot Matching system.
The Russian currency becomes the first non fully convertible instrument to be listed on Reuters Dealing 3000 Spot Matching.
The move allows users of the dealing system to view the currency price. Only those who can settle trades in Russia will be able to buy and sell rubles on it.
Tax Talk in Duma
MOSCOW (Prime-Tass) -- The State Duma is likely to approve a package of government-proposed tax bills in the first reading, Alexander Zhukov, head of the Duma's budget and tax committee, told reporters Friday.
The committee will consider the proposals on Monday followed by the Duma on Friday, Zhukov said.
Among other things, the government proposes canceling state monitoring of significant spending by individuals, and Zhukov said the Duma is likely to approve this.Does not US government do so for more then $10K transactions?
Transneft Sales Soar
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Pipeline monopoly Transneft on Friday reported a healthy increase in sales in 2002 due to booming oil output but a drop in its annual net profit as a result of higher costs.
Transneft said its sales had risen 13.5 percent in 2002 to 97.9 billion rubles ($3.2 billion), under international accounting standards, while net profit dropped 10 percent to 27.9 billion rubles.
Troika Dialog brokerage said the results offered few surprises as analysts expected sales to grow due to a 9 percent increase in Transneft's crude oil transportation in 2002 and due to a 16 percent rise in its average shipping tariffs.
Tochno tak. (Just so)
Note also the word "spending," not "transactions," and not "cash transactions."
I don't expect the US to experience 1990's style growth, but then I never really believed much of it was founded in reality. I expect a reasonable and sustained growth in the US.
You're right that only cash transactions are tracked (and I had not meant to imply otherwise.) However, you're wrong that only bank-mediated transactions are tracked. By law, just about any multi-party transaction involving more than $10k in cash should be reported to the Feds (the Patriot Act greatly expanded the reporting requirements.)
I unfortunately agree with you. A depression is on the horizon.
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