By John Helmer in Moscow The oldest form of Chinese wrestling (jǐao dǐ) involved the contestants literally locking horns with the objective of head-butting each other into insensibility. Half a millennium later, the Chinese emperors decided that there was more military value in training their soldiers to knock opponents off their feet.

by Editor - Monday, April 19th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow In a move that has drawn immediate skepticism in the Russian steel industry, Alexei Mordashov’s Severstal group has entered the bidding for the Ukraine’s fourth steel maker, Zaporizhstal, which is currently owned by four shareholders — Eduard Shifrin and Alex Schnaider of the Midland group; Igor Butler and Vitaly Satsky.

by Editor - Friday, April 16th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow In case you haven’t realized, Russia is now running third in the league of world grain exporters, trailing the US and Canada, but ahead of Australia. (China remains the world’s largest producer of wheat, but eats it all up.) With the aim of competing against government wheat marketing companies like […]

by Editor - Thursday, April 15th, 2010
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In 1855, the English photographer Roger Fenton took these photographs of what the invading British Army called Cossack Bay, at Balaclava, during the Crimean War (in Russian, the Oriental War). By John Helmer in Moscow Russia’s Transport Minister Igor Levitin reported a huge number last month, which, if true, would mean that Russian shipbuilding is […]

by Editor - Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
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by Editor - Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow Hong Kong Exchange executives and the Hong Kong stock market regulator appear to be cracking and splitting under the strain of a phantom share listing and sale for United Company Rusal, Russia’s aluminium monopoly and one of the world’s leading producers of bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium. Although anonymous sources […]

by Editor - Monday, December 21st, 2009
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A D V E R T O R I A L   AND IF YOU LIKE IT ENOUGH, MAYBE I’LL SELL IT TO YOU

by Editor - Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow “Mr Deripaska is a man who denies everything”. This was said in the Court of Appeal in London on July 21, by Geoffrey Vos QC, arguing the case on behalf of Deripaska’s former patron and founding stakeholder, Michael Cherney (Mikhail Chernoy), that Deripaska should face trial in England on Cherney’s […]

by Editor - Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow A client alert was issued Thursday by Deutsche Bank analyst Olga Okunova, warning that even if the Mechel Group succeeds in refinancing a $1.5 billion loan, which has been overdue since March, the group faces serious cash shortage and debt service problems this year and next. Mechel has made new […]

by Editor - Friday, June 12th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow South Africa’s Columbus Stainless Pty Ltd, the country’s only producer of stainless steel, has been targeted for anti-dumping action by a Russian steelmaker, who is himself under pressure of a foreign bank default, and takeover interest from the state. The Mechel specialty steel and mining group, owned by Igor Zyuzin, […]

by Editor - Monday, April 6th, 2009
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