Mobile TeleSystems (MBT) announced results for the second quarter with reported earnings of $1.49 per ADR beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 85 cents. Eastern Europe’s largest cellular operator reported revenue of $2 billion, down 23.3% year over year, hurt by the macroeconomic volatility across its markets. Net income dipped 14.6% from the year-ago quarter to $563 million on lower revenue, higher interest expenses and increased handset costs.

On a geographic basis, revenue rose 7% year over year in Russia, 4% in Uzbekistan, 35% in Turkmenistan and 3% in Armenia, while sales declined 8% in Ukraine.

Mobile TeleSystems added approximately 2.8 million customers in the quarter (up sequentially), primarily driven by a 2.3 million net subscriber growth in Russia. This was marginally offset by 155,000 subscriber losses in Ukraine. At the end of the second quarter, the company served approximately 99.5 million subscribers (67.4 million in Russia), up

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TODAY: Russian soldiers get a raise and permission to fire; Georgian conflict shows its identity crisis; Russian officials balk over economic crisis; Venezuela buys more Russian tanks; Kremlin discusses missile defense for Syria; Russian and US leaders may extend nuclear arsenal treaty; and Russia's biggest mosque opens in Grozny. Amid a report about a plan to raise the salaries of Russian army officers, there are varying accounts of the number of Russian troops killed in an ambush in the North Caucasus region over the weekend. Meanwhile, there is no confusion concerning the directive given to police in South Ossetia, who have been ordered to meet any potential assault by Georgian forces with force. "We will not allow our people and our officers to be killed," said Acting South Ossetian Interior Minister Mikhail Mindzayev. Abkhazia, for its part, remains ensconced ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow 13 October 2008 Many holdings are up for saleOligarchs on opposing sides of the cash crisis are set to trigger a boom in merger and acquisition activity in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.Cash-tight tycoons are being forced to sell holdings to meet pending margin calls while their rouble-wealthy counterparts are sizing up distressed assets affected by the liquidity crunch.Oligarch Oleg Deripaska had to sell a stake in Canadian auto parts maker Magna to meet a $1bn (€734m) margin call while Ukrainian billionaire Kostyantin Zhevago was forced to sell a large stake in Swiss-based ore miner Ferrexpo worth $180 in order to meet a margin call by JP Morgan.Analysts are predicting Deripaska, who has $28bn, may have to divest further holdings in his Basic Element investment vehicle to shore up his finances….