Today in Russian Business – Feb 25, 2011

Political turmoil in Libya seems to have had a positive effect on Russia’s first-ever ruble Eurobond, which raised $1.37 billion yesterday, as the ruble itself hit a ten-month high.  Russian exchange trade funds are, this report says, doing particularly well as the price of oil soars.  In an unexpected move, Russia’s central bank raised the refinancing rate from a record low, the first increase since December 2008, and increased reserve requirements for a second month.  The decision was apparently made due to ‘expectations of high inflation’.  The BBC has a report on how rising food costs are affecting locals in Siberia.   Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin may abandon more than a third of new building projects which had been approved by his predecessor Yury Luzhkov.  Russia will apparently offer to adopt EU guidelines for mobile phone roaming tariffs in a decision which could dramatically cut prices; Russians currently pay up to six times higher than their EU counterparts.  Indebted Spyker Cars is selling its luxury car business to investor Vladimir Antonov in order to turn its attention to the Saab operation it acquired last year.  Reuters offers a factbox on Russian companies seeking IPOs.  Could Sberbank end up with a stake in Oesterreichische Volksbanken AG?