By John Helmer in Moscow Alexei Mordashov (left figure) has a special thing for the Italians. He’s been rewarded for it in a number of ways. Last July, he was awarded the Order of Merit from the Italian Ambasador to Russia. The order, according to a Severstal release, is the highest award in Italy. It […]

by John Helmer - Monday, January 25th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow Mikhail Prokhorov has been honoured, he has announced, by the apology of the French government. The Sunday Times of London reported this month that “three years after his arrest in the ski resort of Courchevel on charges of pimping [January 9, 2007], Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s richest man, has received an […]

by John Helmer - Monday, January 18th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow Gennady Timchenko, a powerful Russian businessman, was identified this week in Helsinki as behind International Petroleum Products (IPP), a small trader which won the first 100,000-tonne crude oil loading assignment at Kozmino, Russia’s new oil port on the Sea of Japan. The news, which a Timchenko spokesman in London is […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, January 14th, 2010
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russian business is child’s play, and very forgiving too, if you are big enough to pay for your mistakes. That’s why Alexei Mordashov is smiling in the picture, taken in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s office on December 4. Mordashov is the owner of the second most heavily indebted steelmaking group […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, December 17th, 2009
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
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Step-1, believe me, I have no money Step-2, you drop your money in my hand Step-3, I wave goodbye and sail on my way By John Helmer in Moscow Far Eastern Shipping Company (Fesco), the listed Russian dry-cargo fleet operator controlled by Sergei Generalov (left image), says it has run into a debt refinancing problem […]

by John Helmer - Friday, December 11th, 2009
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Relayed by John Helmer in Moscow Question for Toby: has the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rejected the share listing application by United Company Rusal? Toby’s answer: Affirmative grunt. For at least two months the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and its listing division, and in parallel the state regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have […]

by John Helmer - Monday, December 7th, 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 A public statement by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin, which he then corrected a few hours later, confirms what Russia’s rival oligarch groups, including those seeking Rusal’s bankruptcy, have believed for many weeks. Oleg Deripaska, controlling shareholder of United Company Rusal, has given up control of his shares to Russian […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
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