Today in Russian Business – Jan 23rd, 2009

The Central Bank says it will stop widening the ruble trading corridor from today, and switch to a managed float.  Meanwhile, some real estate companies and car dealers are repricing their fees in ‘conditional units’ instead of rubles, and the Economic Development Ministry is expecting the economy to shrink by 0.2% this year, largely due to low global demand for energy and metals.  VTB says it won’t accept equity in exchange for debts.  Yevgeny Chichvarkin, the founder and former co-owner of mobile phone retailer Euroset, has been put on the federal wanted list, suspected of involvement in a 2003 kidnapping case.  The Telegraph is counting oligarch losses.  Alexander Lebedev says he intends to pump ‘tens of millions’ of pounds into the Evening Standard newspaper over the next two years.  Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin is in talks with Cuban officials to expand economic ties between Russia and Cuba, ahead of next month’s planned visit by Cuban President Raul Castro.