Russian Economy General News: #13

Russia’s Statistics Service Confirms Country’s 5.5% GDP Growth Estimate in Q3, 12.13.2023.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) on Wednesday confirmed the country’s 5.5% GDP growth estimate in the third quarter of the year.

For the January-September period, the service improved its estimate on the annual GDP growth and now expects it to reach 3% instead of 2.9%.

Earlier in December, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said that the Russian Ministry of Economic Development estimates the GDP growth at 3.5% in 2023, but will not formally revise its forecast.

"The 3.5% growth this year is our current estimate. Of course, we will not formally revise the forecast, we constantly make working estimates. And the forecast will be prepared according to the plan in the spring," Reshetnikov told reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in turn said that the country's GDP will grow by at least 3.5% by the end of this year. The ministry officially forecasts the GDP to grow this year by 2.8%.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231213/russias-statistics-service-confirms-countrys-55-gdp-growth-estimate-in-q3-1115560382.html

Oreshkin: Russia has become the largest economy in Europe and is breathing down Japan’s back, by Yulia Ryabinina for RGRU. 12.25.2023.

Russia has become Europe's largest economy and is breathing down Japan's neck in the race to become fourth in the world. Presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin spoke about this in an interview with Expert magazine.

According to him, the so-called economies of the Global North - the USA, Japan, the European Union - are slowly losing their role and significance. The growing instability of the economies of the Global North is visible.

“China has become the leading economy. Russia has become the largest economy in Europe, which is already breathing down Japan in the race for fourth place,” Oreshkin noted.

According to him, Asian economies have risen very seriously in the rankings. Thus, India took third place, and Indonesia rose to seventh and will soon “begin to storm” sixth place, which is currently occupied by Germany.

It was previously reported that the Russian economy had practically returned to its pre-February 2022 state, compensating for the damage from Western sanctions. Russian business manages to apply “very non-standard solutions,” Western media stated. The sanctions were supposed to cripple the Russian economy and collapse the ruble, but this did not happen.

https://rg.ru/2023/12/26/oreshkin-rossiia-stala-krupnejshej-ekonomikoj-evropy-i-dyshit-v-spinu-iaponii.html

"The economy turned out to be significantly stronger and more flexible”: Head of the Ministry of Economic Development Reshetnikov on the results of 2023, by Ksenia Chemodanova for RTRUSSIAN. 12.26.2023.

The head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, spoke about the results of 2023 in the Russian economy.

The Russian economy has turned out to be much more stable than many previously imagined, and is quite confident in meeting all challenges. This opinion was expressed by the head of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Maxim Reshetnikov, in an exclusive interview with RT. According to him, in 2023 the country's GDP not only returned to its growth trajectory, but also exceeded pre-crisis levels. This was largely due to the fact that entrepreneurs were able to reconfigure logistics, supply and payment chains, enter new markets and increase production. Meanwhile, ordinary Russians began to work more intensively, which led to an increase in real wages. The minister also spoke about the situation on the labor market, tourism development and the climate agenda.

— Maxim Gennadievich, how do you assess the current situation in the Russian economy? What are the key results of the outgoing year?

— Well, the president has already announced the main estimates : by the end of this year, we are expected to grow GDP by 3.5%. In general, this is a very convincing indicator.

The main conclusion: the economy really turned out to be significantly stronger and more flexible than many thought back in 2022 and even at the beginning of 2023. Entrepreneurs have done a great job of reconfiguring logistics, supply chains, payments, entering new markets, reorienting exports and imports, increasing production and finding personnel. And of course, (the decisive role was played. - RT ) by people, workers, because ultimately they create added value.

Everyone had to work hard this year, but it must be said that there was an appropriate reward for this, because we see rapid growth in wages - both nominal and real. This is precisely a consequence of the fact that I had to work more intensively. Therefore, the economy is doing well and is going through all the challenges quite confidently.

We have very good indicators on investments in fixed assets: in the first nine months of 2023, growth was 10%. Investments are growing most actively in the production of machinery, equipment, machine tools, equipment, as well as in IT and software. All this is already such a good start for next year.

Today we can easily say that the potential economic growth rate is higher than we and many experts thought before. Nevertheless, achieving these indicators requires constant effort, since new tasks arise all the time. Therefore, it is important not only to engage in current programs to support the economy, but also to build long-term strategies until 2030-2035, understand what trends are emerging, and be able to respond to the challenges of future years.

— Which sectors of the Russian economy have already fully reached pre-crisis levels, and which are still recovering?

The manufacturing industry is showing decent results. Agriculture and the food industry are also growing well.

Mining production is also doing well, although, for example, oil producers still have their own restrictions related to the implementation of the OPEC+ deal . Gas workers still face certain difficulties: according to some indicators, they have not yet recovered. However, the overall economy has already exceeded the level of the first quarter of 2022 (then it was at its peak) and continues to grow.

— This year, the unemployment rate in Russia dropped below 3% for the first time, but the authorities have repeatedly noted that the shortage of personnel is becoming a new challenge for the economy. How serious is this problem?

— Indeed, the problem with personnel is now one of the main ones, along with high interest rates. This limits further economic growth. However, the labor market has shown its flexibility, and the situation is not as acute as some analysts think. There are factors in the economy that make it possible to increase production and increase labor productivity with the same formal number of employees.

Firstly, people, in principle, began to work more, which partly explains the increase in wages. Secondly, labor productivity is growing, including due to increased investment and the introduction of lean manufacturing standards, which we have been actively promoting for six years.

Thirdly, we have great potential in attracting young people to the labor market. To do this, we need to competently organize learning processes in technical schools and universities and ensure their integration with production. At the same time, it is important to create conditions for the involvement of citizens such as people with disabilities and women on maternity leave in their work activities.

That is, the potential for growth in labor productivity in the economy is great. There is an opportunity to more effectively use available labor resources, including through increased interregional mobility.

In the end, migrant labor must also be used wisely. There's nothing wrong with that either. If they come, work, create added value, pay taxes, receive honestly earned money and leave in compliance with all established norms, rules and laws, then this is a normal practice that the whole world uses, and we also need to actively implement it. Due to this, we will be able to continue to grow calmly even with the restrictions on the labor market that exist today.

Well, plus all this should be accompanied by a transition to an economy of high wages, as the president spoke about earlier. Ultimately, task number one is to increase people's well-being.

— Vladimir Putin proposed exempting businesses from unscheduled inspections for another year . How do entrepreneurs feel in general?

— The introduction of the moratorium allowed us to solve a number of problems. At the same time, in recent years we have been carrying out a lot of systematic work related to the revision of regulatory requirements and streamlining procedures.

Since 2019, we have seen a multiple reduction in the number of inspections. If we take only business, then only high-risk objects are now subject to inspections.

Our task is to ensure compliance and control of all necessary requirements. Another point is that we need to look carefully at the mandatory requirements themselves and modernize them taking into account statistics on incidents and violations. But overall there has been great progress on this issue. Everyone notes this, including entrepreneurs. This is one of the results of four years of intensive work by the entire government.

— Last year, your department was given powers to develop tourism. How is the industry doing under external restrictions? How much has the domestic tourist flow changed this year?

— According to the latest data, over ten months the increase was 19%. The internal tourist flow is growing very intensively, since the demand is quite high. Of course, in some cases this is accompanied by an increase in prices due to a lack of supply. Therefore, all our efforts in the past year were aimed at maximizing the growth of tourist accommodation options, primarily at the construction of hotels.

Recently, funding for the tourism industry has increased by an order of magnitude, especially if you look at the volume of tax benefits provided. It is extremely important to us that businesses direct all resources and efforts to investment. That is, they believe in themselves, in the market, in the industry, in the country and in the Russian tourist. It is clear that, for example, building a large hotel is simply pointless and it is necessary to create some kind of point of attraction. All these processes are now going on very intensively.

We expect that the share of tourism in the economy will increase significantly, not only due to domestic tourist flow, but also due to the active attraction of foreign guests. Russia has something to offer the world. Yes, travelers from Western countries come to us less often now, but we are not closed to anyone. Of course, we are waiting for tourists from China, India, Arab states, and Southeast Asia and are creating visa concessions for this, as well as developing flights.

Tourism has a serious synergistic impact on the entire economy, because there are hotels, transport, museums, and catering. The main thing is that not only megacities are setting the bar, but small towns have also caught up. We are experiencing growth in rural tourism, development of special economic zones, skiing, and so on. Tourism pulls everything else along with it and is the result of the development of other national projects. For example, we have carried out a large program for the reconstruction of regional airfields and airports in recent years. That is, not only the industry itself is developing, but also the regions and the country as a whole.

— The Russian delegation spoke at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and you noted that in the context of the restructuring of global production chains, it is important to develop Russian green, low-emission technologies. What are Russia’s plans for the climate agenda for 2024-2025?

— The topic of climate is extremely relevant and has a planetary scale, but there is still no single global approach to solving existing problems. Different countries are promoting different agendas.

For example, Western countries... trying in every possible way to limit the use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), are introducing their technologies related to wind and solar. What's behind this? In many ways, an attempt to fix the gap between the developed and developing world and strengthen its competitive advantages. Because the developing world cannot catch up and achieve some average level of development without increasing electricity consumption, and its generation from new sources costs many times more than the competent use of fossil resources with minimal CO2 emissions.

At the same time, reducing emissions alone cannot solve the global problem. After all, only 8-10% of CO2 entering the atmosphere is of anthropogenic nature, that is, associated with human activity, and everything else appears under the influence of non-anthropogenic factors, and here the issue of absorption is more relevant.

Russia is in favor of a more balanced approach. We propose to engage not only in reducing, but also absorbing emissions, as well as adapting the economy to new environmental conditions and global warming.

Europe, under the slogan of this transboundary carbon regulation, is trying to protect its uncompetitive markets and uncompetitive economy. By abandoning Russian hydrocarbons, the EU caused a sharp rise in energy prices along with the impoverishment of the population and, in fact, triggered economic degradation , and is now trying to prevent others from developing normally.

However, many countries are still based on the interests of their national economy, so there is a very difficult dialogue going on here. And our main task is to shape our green carbon agenda. We already have carbon units that reflect exactly the amount of CO2 emissions that we have managed to reduce or absorb. On the international track, we want to promote the topic of mutual recognition of carbon units between countries, so that we can further build various formats for their exchange.

— What joint projects in the green sector is Russia implementing? What countries have stable relations with partners in this area?

— First of all, with the BRICS members. As part of its chairmanship of the organization next year, Russia proposes to make the climate agenda, its impact on trade and the economic development of countries, one of the key topics of discussion.

We will also continue to synchronize issues with our colleagues in the EAEU. More broadly, we plan to expand cooperation with the countries of Central Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

— How do you assess the work of the Ministry of Economic Development in 2023? What are the department’s plans for 2024?

— We have largely completed the list of assigned tasks. At the same time, we face a big challenge—adjusting tools to support investments, taking into account high interest rates . We are now discussing this in the
 government. There are many moments that simply require constant attention. For example, we now have seven special economic zones: three are new, and four are being expanded. We are developing cooperation with business within the framework of the Agreement on the Protection and Promotion of Investments.

Issues of financing various projects are also under constant control: here is our interaction with VEB.RF, and work within the framework of the project financing factory on super-projects that change the economy of regions and entire industries. On the agenda there are issues of the development of small and medium-sized businesses, which also need to be constantly addressed.

Earlier, at a meeting with the president to sum up the results of national projects, an assessment was made, with which I agree, that there is no shame in the past year and the efforts made. The indicators we achieved owe a certain amount of credit to both the Ministry of Economic Development and the entire system of government bodies. However, there are also a lot of tasks and developments for 2024.

Celebrating the New Year is a big illusion for us, because on January 8 we will all come to work, and Santa Claus will not take away anything from the tasks that we face and will not give us any new solutions. You'll have to do everything yourself.

https://russian.rt.com/business/article/1249403-reshetnikov-economica-rynok-truda

"Recognized even in the West." What the Russian economy has achieved in 2023, by Nadezhda Sarapina for RiaNovosti. 12.30.2023.

Contrary to gloomy Western forecasts, the outgoing year has been quite successful for Russia. The Ministry of Economic Development estimated GDP growth at 3.5 percent. The President called the economy healthy, noting the success of domestic production, as well as the strengthening of international ties. Enterprise profits increased by 24 percent, with the non-financial sector earning many times more. The results of 2023 are in the material of RIA Novosti.

Recovered from the fall

The country managed not only to compensate for the losses of 2022, but also to step forward. GDP is now greater than before the Western sanctions attack. Moreover, as Putin emphasized, mining accounted for only two percent of GDP growth, and the largest contribution - 54 percent - was made by non-resource sectors.

“The main achievement is the increase in industrial production volumes under conditions of tough sanctions,” notes industrial expert Leonid Khazanov. According to Rosstat, for ten months - 3.5 percent compared to the same period in 2022. The expert cites ferrous metallurgy as an example: 74 million tons of steel were produced, and last year - 71. 

This was facilitated by the growth in the production of cars, freight and passenger cars, the stable situation in housing construction, as well as the reorientation of exports of metallurgical enterprises from Europe to Asia and Africa.

Over the nine months of the outgoing year, the profits of large and medium-sized companies in the real sector exceeded 26 trillion rubles and exceeded last year by a quarter. Enterprises managed not only to retain staff, but also to invest: in the second quarter, investments in fixed capital increased by 12.6 percent, in the third - by 13.3. And they achieved a high level of autonomy. “More than half of investments in the real sector are made from the own funds (profits) of Russian enterprises. In second place are bank loans, in third place are funds from the federal budget,” emphasizes economist and director of communications at BitRiver Andrei Loboda.

Rely on yourself

Raising funds into the economy is an extremely important task. “Over 30 years, about 1.3 trillion dollars were withdrawn from Russia. These assets would be quite enough for long-term investments,” says Loboda.

Due to sanctions and geopolitical risks, there is almost no Western capital left. Experts estimate its share at only half a percent. And the development of enterprises requires funds. “In the context of the departure of European and American banks from Russia and the closure of the Western financial market, it was domestic sources of investment that provided support to the real sector,” Khazanov points out. Financial results confirmed the viability and effectiveness of self-sufficiency. Analysts note an increase in activity on the Moscow Exchange.

“The main achievement in the financial sector this year was the growth of the stock market. Blue chips, including shares of the banking sector, recovered from the recession and led the rest of the companies. The number of Russians with brokerage accounts reached 21 million, this is more than 16 percent of the population ", adds Loboda.
The government is introducing investment insurance programs and developing new investment instruments. As a result, citizens receive acceptable returns with minimal risks and are more willing to enter the stock market.

Growth point

The import substitution program also performed well. Over the course of a year and a half, the number of companies in the light industry increased by 80 percent, furniture manufacturers by 30, children's toys by 20. The number of trademarks increased by a third. Doing business in the country turned out to be profitable.

At the same time, the state keeps the market open. “Russia does not expel anyone and does not close itself off from anyone, from anyone. Many foreign enterprises and organizations, despite the pressure of their governments, their officials, said that they want to continue working in our country. We only welcome this,” he said Putin. Some corporations simply changed their names, others were transferred to management with the right to buy back. And the number of foreign companies, oddly enough, has grown - from 24.1 thousand in March 2022 to 25.6 thousand.

Expanding contacts with countries in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa helped. Thus, trade with China exceeded the target ($200 billion) by almost ten percent, trade with Saudi Arabia increased by 20 percent in seven months, with the UAE by half in nine months, and with India by 20 percent in eight months.

“While the EU countries are demonstrating near-zero economic growth and a serious decline in industry, Russia is showing the strongest breakthrough under the conditions of Western sanctions pressure,” sums up Guzel Protsenko, CEO of Alfa-Forex. Stimulating fiscal policy and effective budget execution laid the basis for the restoration of the ruble's position. The final deficit is about a billion rubles, only half a percent of GDP. The World Bank included Russia in the top 5 economies in the world along with China, the USA, India and Japan.

https://ria.ru/20231230/itogi-1917431489.html

Elvira Sakhipzadovna should set up an intelligence unit in the RCB in charge of monitoring the ECB and Fed in this economic war.

The Euro is killing Europe, by Elvira Karaeva for RiaNovosti, 01.06.2023.

A quarter of a century ago, the EU, having switched to a single currency in electronic payments (cash, banknotes and coins would still be two years away), went down the stairs leading to political and economic independence. The idea of ​​the euro, a monetary instrument for everyone and for every EU member country (these are the statutory documents adopted at one time in Maastricht), is the clearest example of how several hundred million people can be deceived and how the authors of the deception will not get anything for it.

So, the euro, this child of mothers - ideas about “embrace, millions, merge in the joy of one” and fathers - clever adventurers (a rare, but, as we see, a real case of collective fatherhood), has become an instrument of coercion on the one hand and the destruction of any political opposition - on the other hand, if and when states belonging to the eurozone express dissatisfaction.

We’ll talk about those who benefited from the introduction of the euro below. Now let's talk about the losers. Almost all participants in this Euro scam became them.

All countries - both relatively wealthy ones like Austria , and poorer, if not destitute, like Greece - had to deprive their own central banks of the two main levers of managing the state's monetary system as an entrance fee to this club. Firstly, European national central banks have lost the right to issue their own money, and secondly, to set interest rates on loans. All powers flew to Frankfurt am Main , where the headquarters of the European Central Bank is located . Thus, the lives of more than 340 million people are controlled by a couple of hundred financiers, whose names are unknown, whose faces are unfamiliar, so it is absolutely impossible to hold them accountable if and when European monetary policy goes wrong.

But these financiers themselves have colossal, in a sense, completely cosmic powers. For example, they decide at what percentage a family in a Spanish (French/Belgian/Italian) outback will take out a mortgage loan. For example, they and only they determine whether the budget of such a small but proud country as the Netherlands complies with the standards of financial discipline or does not comply. For non-compliance there is a fine, and a very serious one. And for consistent violation of this same financial discipline, you can get the same punishment that Greece received at one time.

In Athens, debit really did not match credit, and so that the Greek debt, and then the Greek default, did not disrupt the pleasant life of the rich and bankers, Greece was twisted into a ram's horn so that almost all strata of society were plunged into monstrous poverty, and the country itself rolled into recession.

If the Greeks had kept their meager drachma, they could easily have avoided such bloodletting, since their financial sovereignty was not limited.

And if the French had kept their francs, it is unlikely that they would have had to pass various laws, forcing unsuspecting citizens to work until they were 67 years old. But Frankfurt am Main, like Brussels , requires ideal financial reporting and a full treasury, since the slightest doubt about the value of the euro and its stability - and the system of relations with the second reserve currency of the world can come to an end.

Therefore, the Greeks, the French, the Italians, and the Portuguese constantly have to tinker with the lines of the budget law.

More precisely, about the winner. This is Germany . The idea of ​​a single currency struck a chord in the minds and hearts of globalists then, and even today, despite the hell of the German recession. Because the shaky German economy, deprived of Russian energy resources, will be able to stick like a tick to the general economic system of the community and will suck it until the system has enough juice, and the German economy has enough appetite. Ordinary Spaniards, Greeks, Baltic states and everyone else will pay for the games of German politicians. Because the system of a single monetary space does not work any other way.

Germany first behind the scenes pushed for its own reunification, playing on our economic difficulties, then, when the USSR collapsed, it turned its attention to the former Yugoslavia , that is, the Balkans region, where our influence was greater than that of all Western Europe combined, after which, deciding both tasks of a geopolitical nature, set the goal of creating the most favorable conditions in the economy. The introduction of the euro, romantically framed for everyone, but by and large beneficial only to Berlin , became in fact the cornerstone of the “German economic miracle” at the turn of the two millennia.

And what does the European bloc have with the euro today after all the dancing with tambourines?

Everything the globalist elites can dream of.

Total control over the emissions and monetary policy of all countries included in the eurozone, and no less total control over the national budget policy of each of the eurozone states.

Europeans, who consider themselves both freedom-loving and practical, did not just become victims of scammers - they themselves, quite voluntarily, brought a rope to hang their own sovereignty from the gallows.

Well, the constant decrease in the share of the euro in international payments through interbank systems suggests that losing sovereignty, like virginity, can be thoughtlessly, but it is impossible to return everything back, even if you think about it hard.

In the end, there are no trifles in protecting sovereignty and pursuing independent policies - both within the country and in the foreign policy arena. The truth is inaccessible to modern Europeans, but it is so clear to us.

https://ria.ru/20240106/evro-1919846548.html

As the UAF retreat in desperate battles and Russia takes control over devastated new regions, an increasing massive amount of rubles will be needed for rebuilding. This will be an enormous economic challenge, so it might be necessary for successive moderate rises for the key rate. After a while, these hikes should stop and the latter kept elevated for some time.

Elena Karaeva: will you marry me? Am pennyless but very romantic.

Putin: economic growth by the end of 2023 may be higher than 3.5 percent, 01.11.2024.

Putin: Russia is being strangled from all sides, and it has become the first economy in Europe.

KHABAROVSK, January 11 – RIA Novosti. The growth of the Russian economy by the end of 2023 may be higher than the predicted 3.5 percent, Vladimir Putin said in Khabarovsk at a meeting with entrepreneurs of the Far East.
"
“More than four percent? Well, maybe, yes. We are experiencing a decline, as Mikhail Vladimirovich (Mishustin - editor’s note) told me before leaving here, we always calculated the decline in 2022 to be 2.1%, in fact it turned out to be 1.2% <…> Therefore, maybe there will be more GDP growth,” the president said.
He recalled that in terms of the size of the economy as a whole, Russia has overtaken Germany , becoming first in Europe and fifth in the world.
"
“In terms of purchasing power parity, we have overtaken the whole of Europe, but per capita, we still need to try,” the Russian leader added.

Putin noted that “this is an amazing result” in conditions when Russia is “suffocated, crushed” from all sides.

As Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov reported on December 30 , the economy showed stability, GDP growth, according to preliminary estimates, will be 3.5%.

According to Rosstat at the end of December, in the third quarter of 2023, economic growth was 5.5%. The department noted that the growth in the physical volume of GDP occurred due to an increase in domestic final demand against the backdrop of a reduction in net exports.

https://ria.ru/20240111/putin-1920656649.html

Economic talk starts around 30:00.

'Russia has a good future': Legendary investor still bullish on country's market, 01.12.2024.

Jim Rogers remains positive on the country’s potential and ruble’s resilience despite sanctions.

As the world embarks on the new year of 2024, characterized by heightened geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties, legendary investor Jim Rogers remains steadfast in his belief in the potential of Russian stocks. In a recent interview with RBK, Rogers revealed his strategic approach to confront the challenges posed by sanctions and geopolitical turmoil. Despite the freezing of his Russian assets, the co-founder of the Quantum Fund remains optimistic about the country's economic future.

As the global landscape witnesses heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly the possible conflict between China and the US over Taiwan, Rogers brings attention to the potential ripple effects on international markets. Rogers dismisses the idea of China initiating a conflict and instead speculates that the United States might be a more likely instigator. However, his focus remains on Russia, where he sees a silver lining despite the adversities.

Rogers’ portfolio includes shares in key Russian companies such as PhosAgro, AFK Sistema, Aeroflot, and Moscow Exchange. Despite the imposition of sanctions, he expresses a steadfast commitment to holding onto these assets. The seasoned investor remains confident that once the sanctions are lifted, Russian companies, even those significantly affected by the crisis, will experience a resurgence, presenting an attractive investment opportunity.

I’m still optimistic. Russia has a good future in many aspects. I want to own Russian stocks; I don't want to sell them," Rogers emphasizes, highlighting his belief in the resilience and potential of the Russian market.

Rogers’ optimism extends beyond equities to the Russian ruble, which he views as a  currency with good prospects. He anticipates the ruble regaining strength after the resolution of the ongoing crisis over Ukraine.

Expressing a desire to acquire the Russian currency, Rogers underscores his confidence in Russia’s economic rebound once the geopolitical situation stabilizes.

Known for his strategic investment in physical gold and silver, Rogers advocates for these precious metals as essential hedges during uncertain times. While observing the market, he remains open to increasing his holdings, particularly in silver, which he believes is undervalued. Additionally, Rogers underscores the potential in the agricultural sector, foreseeing significant price increases due to an aging farming population and a shortage of successors among the younger generation.

As a seasoned investor, Rogers shares valuable insights for navigating the complex world of finance. He encourages investors to make independent decisions based on their knowledge rather than relying on internet advice. In an era where artificial intelligence manages portfolios, Rogers adheres to a hands-on approach, cautioning against unthinkingly following investment tips that can lead to financial ruin.

Concluding the interview, Rogers reflects on the broader economic landscape, expressing concerns about the growing US debt. Despite these apprehensions, his focus remains on the potential of Russian assets and the positive trajectory of the country's economy. His unwavering commitment to his investment principles, coupled with his optimism about Russia’s future, positions Jim Rogers as a beacon of resilience in the face of global uncertainties.

In a world fraught with challenges, Jim Rogers’ strategic optimism on Russian stocks stands as a testament to the enduring belief in the power of markets to rebound and thrive even in the most challenging times.

https://www.rt.com/business/590188-jim-rogers-russian-markets/

As usual Russia does things properly

If you must have crappy wiring be thorough.



The preliminary cause of the terrible fire in Shushary was a faulty electrical wiring, - operational service

During a fire in warehouses in St. Petersburg, a collapse occurred on an area of ​​40 thousand square meters, emergency services told RIA Novosti.
RVvoenkor

Wildberries.

Insurance company will not be amused.

Not sure where to put this civil/military interest.

Why did the Wildberries warehouse catch fire: all versions

The fire could have occurred as a result of “the source of the fire being introduced by unidentified persons,” a version of deliberate arson is being considered, RBC writes with reference to sources.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations is also considering the version of faulty wiring, TASS writes. Previously, the fire alarm was turned off due to a false alarm.

In addition, the version of careless handling of fire is being considered, a source told RBC.

The warehouse caught fire after a spark fell from the elevator mechanism onto shelves with goods, an eyewitness who saw the start of the fire told REN TV.

http://IZ.RU - reports

The value of the ruble is appreciating vs the dollar again.



Basically 88 rubles per dollar at the moment. I think the Russian Central Bank needs to force it to devalue a bit somewhat. It is not that much a good idea to have the ruble valued too highly either.