Today in Russian Business – Oct 28, 2008

‘Russia and metal stocks are toxic.’ Will the Russian film industry, amid rising production costs, survive the credit crunch? Major airline Krasnoyarsk Airlines has all but ceased operations due to debt issues. The Kremlin will bail out Russia’s construction companies by buying over $5 billion worth of new apartments, and says it is keeping careful tabs on the ruble, although it has just hit an 18-month low against the dollar, and analysts say that a devaluation is just a matter of time. Several restaurants and some sellers of consumer goods have reportedly stopped accepting credit cards in Moscow. Vladimir Putin has warned against taking ‘aggressive protectionist’ measures to deal with the crisis, and President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law a new set of measures to protect the banking sector last night. Barclays, the UK’s third-largest bank, is in talks with VTB and Sberbank over a potential fundraising opportunity. The number of Moscow mortgages dropped by 30% in just three months this year.