TODAY:  Drug use nightmare for Russia; Medvedev calls for US support.  START talks to restart; tanks for Chavez.  Possible loan to Ukraine whilst relations remain chilly.  Black September anniversary; Scott Anderson interview.  Russia denies arms in Arctic Sea; infrastructure shortcomings scrutinized.  Russia is the world's biggest consumer of Afghan heroin, says President Medvedev, which 'is a threat to the country's national security' and 'a serious challenge to the health of the nation', which is already fighting demographic decline.  The President is calling on US troops to help curb the wave of drugs leaving the war-torn country.  Sergei Lavrov has said that isolating North Korea must be avoided and resumption of six party talks prioritized.  Lavrov has also objected to claims ...

According to various reports, central bankers from Saudi Arabia–whose capital Riyadh is slated as the home of a planned future regional central bank–are increasingly pessimistic as to the odds of the once much bally-hooed 2010 transition to a single Gulf currency and monetary union across the six-member GCC.  This despite the fact that prices rose 10.5% in the Kingdom in April, the fastest pace in over three decades, and UAE inflation touched the 20-year peak of 11.1% last year.  In the meantime, dollar pegs forced various countries to mirror declining U.S. interest rates despite windfall oil profits and domestic price increases.  Yet certain countries, such as Kuwait and Syria, have already dropped their dollar ties.  Moreover, there is scant evidence that dropping the peg did much for Kuwait’s inflationary pressures.  Some analysts reckon, for instance, that inflation is less tied to fuel and more tied to factors such as food prices, construction materials such

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It’s become widely accepted when talking about emerging economies to focus on the so-called BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China. But there is a very important region that gets lost in that discussion.

And it’s a region that holds the key to growth opportunities that could eclipse the growth in the BRIC countries.

In fact, this region collectively has a bigger economy than Brazil, Russia or India already. And in terms of growth, it is growing faster than any of these countries. In terms of population, it’s bigger than the U.S. and nearly as populous the EU. It holds 60% of the world’s proven oil reserves and nearly half of its natural gas.

That last clue probably gives it away. I’m talking about the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA.

Among its largest economies are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In one of my presentations at Agora Financial’s 10th Annual

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This story of the disappearing "lumber" freighter just keeps getting stranger and stranger, as this excerpt from the Moscow Times shows.  At least we know that it wasn't a completely inside job - even though Russian officials are still acting awful cagey, NATO did assist them in tracking the ship down?  So one would assume that if the government were playing a role in a supposed arms trafficking transaction, which seems like the most plausible explanation, they probably wouldn't have to ask for help.

Yet the official version of what transpired is fraught with inconsistencies, prompting observers to suggest that Russian authorities are trying to cover up a smuggling or trafficking operation.

When Swedish police first said the ship had been hijacked near the island of Gotland on July 24, they cited the crew as saying masked men had bound and beat them before fleeing in

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PennyOmega.com Stock Report!

PennyOmega.com Hot Stock News & Alerts!

 

Tuesday August 18, 2009

PennyOmega.com Stock Report!

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Lazard Ltd (NYSE:LAZ) announced today that Tom Tuft, one of the leading bankers in equity capital markets, will join Lazard as Chairman, Global Capital Markets Advisory, and a Vice Chairman, US Investment Banking in November. Mr. Tuft, based in New York, will join Lazard from Goldman Sachs & Co., where he most recently served as Chairman of its Equity Capital Markets group.

UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), a leading multifamily real estate investment trust (REIT), today announced that it has extended the early tender deadline in respect of its previously announced cash tender offer and consent solicitation (the “Offer”) for its

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With the Estemirova murder, many journalists are digging through the (regrettably) robust archives of other dead Russian journalists.  One that has always struck me as tragically under-mentioned is the case of Ivan Safronov - he wasn't a crusading dissident, he didn't touch Chechnya, but rather was a well informed military muckraker.  It other words, you can find yourself targeted as a journalist reporting on almost anything, not just politics and Chechnya.Here's a little note from CPJ, dated June 25, 2009, which makes mention of Safronov's reporting on the spectacular failures of the Bulava missile - a topic which has returned to the news this week.Ivan Safronov, 51, a prominent military ...

Ivan Safranchuk, an adviser to the Russian government, recently told the Economist that with regard to the United States, "Moscow's general policy is one of disengagement."  However others are arguing the precise opposite, that recent actions show that Russia is attempting to put an end to its longstanding diplomatic estrangement.  From Jon Haron-Feiertag in the Diplomatic Courier:

President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin preside over a country that has never been isolated, nevertheless it has for a long time been estranged. Not since the era of the Holy Alliance has Russia had the benefit of a real, reliable ally in peace time. Today Russia has been abandoned by all her confederates from the Warsaw Pact. She has proven unable to resist the NATO enlargement, or block its interventions in either Bosnia or Kosovo. Her actions in Georgia go unaided, and have become the subject of continuing

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Sales for the pharma majors in most developed markets have flattened or are growing at a slower pace. Now, emerging markets are playing a crucial role as a market survey predicts this region would contribute 50% growth in 2009.

With this backdrop, we are happy to find GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) acquiring the branded generics business of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) in the countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Libya and Yemen for a cash consideration of $23.2m (£14.2m). This transaction consists of a portfolio of 13 branded pharmaceuticals with annual sales of $11.8 million in 2008.

GSK is the world’s second largest pharmaceutical company, with operations primarily based in the U.K. and the U.S. This move is seen as the company’s strategy to expand its presence in branded products in emerging markets. Emerging markets have witnessed robust demand for branded products driven by a large population and middle class prosperity.

GSK is trying

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Stephen Blank has an interesting new article on Forbes in which he assesses the economic damage being caused by Russia's inability to effectively reduce legal nihilism and corruption, both of which are dragging on the country's attempt to recover from the crisis.  Sticking out like a sore thumb is of course the second trial of Mikhail Khdorkovsky, which will be in full session during the first state visit of President Barack Obama.  Blank describes the Khodorkovsky trial as a "palpable judicial farce," and if President Dmitry Medvedev is unable to take action to solve the situation it will "confirm the widespread belief that he is merely a tool of his predecessor, a placeholder until Putin resumes the presidency."

When he was a candidate to lead Russia, Dmitry Medvedev denounced the country's "legal nihilism." Now, as president, he has often spoken

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TODAY: EU critical of South Ossetia elections; Israeli foreign minister in Moscow; START talks underway in Geneva; court rules against Khodorkovsky appeal; journalist seeks asylum in Finland; order of parental glory ceremonyThe EU has joined Georgia in claiming that the election in South Ossetia is illegal and 'represents a setback in the search for a peaceful and lasting settlement of the situation in Georgia'.   The Telegraph analyzes the victory of the pro-Kremlin Unity party: 'South Ossetia has gone on the United Russia path. A decisive role (in Unity's victory) was played by their active use of the methods of United Russia'.  Russia will stick to its pledge to offer a $500 million loan to Belarus, but has warned that the Belarusian government ...