By John Helmer in Moscow The Russian government has decided to underwrite the refinancing of pipemaker TMK’s loan portfolio with state repayment guarantees. TMK is controlled by Dmitry Pumpyansky (see right figure). A curt statement, issued Tuesday by Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy, Andrei Dementyev, said “the necessary papers are being processed by the […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow On June 16, 1858, in Springfield, Illinois, the young Abraham Lincoln launched his campaign for a seat in the US Senate for Illinois, with a speech that became famous for these words: “In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. ‘A house […]

by John Helmer - Friday, October 30th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow It was ten years ago, almost to the day, that a lawyer from Philadelphia named Bruce Marks had a very smart idea. If you are too small and weak, physically or legally, to recover money you unwisely entrusted to a big Russian crook, Marks recommended going to your nearest federal […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Noone can say that Alexei Mordashov (pictured left), owner of Severstal, Russia’s third largest steelmaker, and Anatoly Kruchinin, the chief executive of the Russian steel operations (right), are overdoing it when it comes to human sacrifice. In 1487, when the Aztecs had rebuilt the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan after flooding, […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow According to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Nemone, Queen of the City of Gold, was one of those notorious Hollywood types – too beautiful, not enough brains, and a perverse streak that enjoyed making people suffer. Tarzan gets help from his pet lion, and together they despatch the worst Nemone sends after […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, September 27th, 2009
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Key: Rear left, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Democrat, New Jersey Rear right, NBA Commissioner David Stern Centre, Stuart Levey, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Intelligence Rack: Mikhail Prokhorov Front left, Senator Paul Sarbanes, author of financial accountability statute Front right, Daniel Goelzer, Chairman of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board For Immediate Release September 23, […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, September 27th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Mikhail Prokhorov is an accomplished athlete, whose sports include skiing, basketball, kickboxing, and waterskiing. He is also an upstanding Russian patriot, dedicated to the introduction of high-technology skills to Russians who have been crippled in their ball-handling skills by seventy years of Marxism-Leninism. In response to the reports appearing here […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow In the original game of basketball, invented by Dr James Naismith in 1892, there were 13 rules. Rule 5 was the disqualifier. In the playbook of Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, there is just one rule – and that’s the disqualifier. Mikhail Prokhorov’s decision to buy into the American […]

by John Helmer - Friday, September 18th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow De Beers has accepted a new plan which makes litigation in a Denver, Colorado, courtroom against LUKoil the centrepiece of the diamond-miner’s survival strategy; and the prospect of multi-million dollar compensation the Toronto-listed company’s most valuable asset. A new document, filed this week in the US Bankrupty Court in Denver […]

by John Helmer - Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow Alexei Mordashov, owner of the Russian Severstal steel and mining group, has lifted his takeover offer for High River Gold (HRG:CN) by 8 Canadian cents per share, after his earlier bids for the 43% minority shareholding failed at 18 cents and 22 cents. The new offer is 30 cents. If […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
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