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By John Helmer in Moscow Trojan horse in reverse — Vekselberg & Potanin attack Rusal Laocoon the Trojan is on record as warning not to trust the famous wooden horse; nor the Greeks bearing gifts. But he, Homer and Virgil can’t help with the corporate raider’s version of the Trojan Horse ploy. This is –if […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow In the old days, before artillery fire could be directed with precision, the only way an attacking force could breach a fortified gate or wall was to manually deliver a large package of gunpowder; fix it to the target; light the fuze; and run away. Our word for the modern […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow The share price of Polyus Gold started tumbling on the Moscow exchange even before the votes were counted at today’s Annual General Meeting of shareholders in Moscow. At the Moscow bell, Polyus was down more than 3% on the day to $60 per share. Since May 21, when the share […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow Russia tries cooling steel prices. The Russian government has postponed a decision on whether to impose export duties of up to 20% on steel products, despite a flurry of press and brokerage reports claiming the government’s senior industry minister has already promised not to levy new taxes. A meeting between […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow Russians out-play Saudis as Gazprom calls for OPEC replacement. The view from British Petroleum’s front-window on to St. James Square in London is an irony BP Chairman Peter Sutherland and Chief Executive Tony Hayward have not noticed; at least not yet. In the middle of the gated garden, there is […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow Reported Russian billions for Zambian copper are flash in the pan. The prospect of several billion dollars in Russian mining investment in southern Africa cannot fail to be alluring. But an announcement by a single newspaper in Moscow last week that three major Russian mining companies “hope to announce a […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow Rusal seeks four seats on the Norilsk Nickel board. Capt. W.E. Johns, the favourite novelist of English schoolboys, wrote 104 books about Biggles – Flight Captain James Bigglesworth, a World War I air ace. The boys’ demand for his adventures was so great, Johns had to press him back into […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow MOSCOW – The spear points of the fence that guards the Royal Courts of Justice, off Fleet Street in London, haven’t been used to display the severed heads of criminals for half a millennium. They remain sharp, and deterring, nonetheless. Inside, and upstairs to the left, the swinging oak doors […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow Russian specialty steelmaker spins off coal-mining and ferroalloy units to add value, deter asset attack. A series of new executive appointments, announced this week by Mechel, suggests that the group’s controlling shareholder, Igor Zyuzin, is preparing for the possible, much rumoured sale of the Mechel steel division to the state-owned […]

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By John Helmer in Moscow Russian largest silver and third largest gold miner, Polymetal, goes back to Nesis family. Suleiman Kerimov finally did what he was always expected to do with Polymetal, Russia’s principal silver miner — he has sold out. The move was confirmed in a Monday morning press release from one of the […]