Russia
Russia's National Welfare Fund steps up again to $12.2bn, or 11% of GDP, in March
The Russian Ministry of Finance announced on March 19 that it has transferred last year's budget surplus to the National Welfare Fund (NWF), which now amounts to about RUB12,200bn ($157.2bn), or 11% of GDP
IIF forecasts a contraction of -1.4% in CEE, -1.3% in Russia, but Turkish growth remains in the black in 2020
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) released updated forecasts for economic growth this year for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries that show a sharp slowdown in 2020 and all except Turkey will return negative results.
Is Russia’s healthcare system up to dealing with the coronavirus?
Experts worry that Russia is ill-prepared to deal with a spike in infections thanks to the neglect of health system reform.
Is the pace of outflows from EMs starting to slow?
Equity and bond markets have been rocked by record volumes of outflows since the end of February in one of the biggest sell offs ever, but the pace of selling seems to be slowing in the last few days, said the Institute of International Finance (IIF)
Capital Economics slashes CEE growth forecasts for 2020 to -2% y/y
Economic consultancy Capital Economics has slashed its growth forecast for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to a 2% y/y contractions from the previous 2.3% expansion in 2020, as a result of the coronavirus.
Fitch cuts oil price outlook for 2020 from 62.5/bbl to $41/bbl on global recession fears
Fitch Ratings has cut its short and medium-term oil and natural gas price assumptions in expectation of very large market oversupply in 2020.
BCS: Pricing in a global recession
Recession is no surprise now, but uncertainty makes investors nervous. The situation has aggravated uncertainty about the duration and the depth of the economic downturn. Most assets have already priced in the recession, its fallout is still unclear.
Russian pipemaker ChelPipe getting ready for IPO
With the predominance of oil and gas in Russia’s economy the pipe-making business is a big one. ChelPipe is the market leader and is now considering an IPO.
Citizens fear unscrupulous leaders will take advantage of lockdowns
Restricting social interaction is a vital part of the efforts to delay the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, but in some countries people fear politicians will use the opportunity for their own ends.
_6_35_1584868433.png)
Russia's Watcom shopping index: so far so good
The Watcom shopping index fell to 464 in the eleventh week of this year from its annual International Women’s spike on March 8 of 501, but so far the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has not made itself felt on foot traffic in Moscow’s leading malls.
Russia’s economy to contract by 1% in 2020, says BOFIT
Russia’s economy will contract by 1% in 2020, according to the latest forecast by the widely respected Bank of Finland Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT).
Russian e-retailer Ozon caps prices for the most sought-after goods to prevent gouging
One of Russia’s “big three” online retailers Ozon Holdings announced that it was capping the prices of essential goods that are currently in high demand to prevent manufacturers gouging customers.
Russian assets sees a all-time record $1.4bn of outflows in a week
Russian assets saw an all-time record $1.4bn outflows from investors from its combined equity and bond securities in the week ending March 18 compared with an outflow of $590mn the week before.
COMMENT: Pandemic brings “S” back to ESG, Russian business responds
Russian companies have been putting ESG policies into place in the last year, but the focus until now was on the environmental element. In the face of a pandemic that focus has now shifted to the social part
Russian central bank keeps rates on hold at 6%
Russia’s central bank kept its key rate on hold at 6% annually despite the sudden devaluation of the ruble and panic selling on the stock market.
Russia reports first coronavirus death
Russia suffered its first coronavirus death on March 19 when a 79-year-old woman passed away. Officially there are only 199 cases in Russia.
Russian video streaming platforms gain speed
As the Russian video streaming service segment is booming. The major players are securing funding and launching original content production.
Cloud services take off in Russia
The cloud service segment is growing in Russia, but some companies haven't yet realized its potential value for their business, while others might be put off by security issues.
Is Russia facing another banking crisis due to the oil price and coronavirus shocks?
Is Russia’s banking sector in danger of another crisis due to the double whammy of the oil price collapse and coronavirus shocks?
Coronavirus crisis to widen rich/poor gap within Central and Eastern Europe
Convergence to be reversed as the economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic is set to be deeper and longer in the CIS, Ukraine, Turkey and the Western Balkans than in the EU member states of Central and Southeast Europe.