Today in Russian Business – Jan 2, 2012

Vladimir Putin has described Russia’s economy as an ‘island of stability’ amid the vicissitudes of the global financial system in his New Year message, says Bloomberg.  According to the Telegraph, Rusal chief Oleg Deripaska has warned Europe that its days of economic prosperity are over, and highlighted that WTO entry for Russia makes it an enticing place to invest.  Forbes’ Tim Worstall would ‘argue exactly the opposite. Conditions in Russia have deteriorated and will continue to do so. So much so that I’m in the process of entirely replacing all of my supplies from Russia with supplies from elsewhere’.   RT has a month-by-month overview of the major events in the Russian business world in 2011.  Phosphate giant Phosagro intends to slash output by 18% in the first quarter from a year earlier following a drop in prices.  Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank has agreed to set a $100 million credit limit for fertilizer producer Acron for trade financing operations.