Today in Russian Business – Jan 7, 2010

In December, Russia’s GDP shrunk at the slowest pace in a year – at just 1.3% in comparison to 2.5% in November.  An unnamed Russian company is near to gaining control of a Ukrainian steel group, the Industrial Union of Donbas.  In the past both mining tycoon Alisher Usmanov and Evraz, a metals group part controlled by Roman Abramovich have shown interest in the company.  ‘As a sales pitch, the prospectus for Rusal is about as enticing as an invitation to invest in Bernie Madoff’s boys’ latest venture’: the Wall Street Journal looks at Hong Kong’s Rusal IPO.  Given all of Hong Kong’s caveats about the listing, why did the exchange bother?: ‘lowering your standards often turns out badly’ cautions this article.