Today in Russian Business – Aug 11, 2010

Consumers are ‘defenseless‘ against raised prices on heat-busting commodities including cold drinks, as the price of an air conditioner quadruples, and coffins and funerals become more expensive, says RFE/RL.  Meanwhile, the regional authorities charged almost four times the factory price of CT scanners were the victims of ‘an absolutely cynical, impudent theft of state funds,‘ says President Dmitry Medvedev.  Wendy’s reveals details of its plan to infiltrate Russia in 180 locations over the next decade.  Swiss Re estimates that 25% of Russian crops are insured, and suggests that this ‘nascent‘ market could get a boost from this year’s suffering harvests.  When Russia’s grain export ban comes into play next week, the US will take its place on the world market, says Russia’s agriculture minister.  Trading is experiencing a dip this week – because Moscow’s traders are fleeing the polluted air.  Reuters offers a diagnosis of the predicted 1% loss in overall growth this year caused by drought and wildfires, and the inflation forecast for this year has been raised from 6.8% to 8.5%.