Today in Russian Business – June 17, 2009

Apparently the BRIC nations did not make any comments on the dollar in their draft communique, but they may consider buying each other’s bonds and swapping currencies to decrease their dependence on it.  China has offered a $10 billion loan to group members struggling during the crisis.  Chinese and Russian businesses signed deals worth $3 billion at a Moscow business forum.  A Unicredit economist has predicted that Russia’s economy will contract by 6.6% this year.  Sberbank head German Gref has said that Avtovaz should consider creating an alliance with Magna and Opel.  The latter will reportedly produce three million cars in five years.  Severstal has agreed to sell its Allenport plant in the US to North American Trading.  Superjet has achieved lift off – 122 orders have been made at the Paris air show; the annual target is 150.  VEB will merge the troubled banks Svyaz Bank and Globex and then sell them to a ‘strategic investor’.  The New York Times analyzes the diverging economic desires of the reformers and the ‘siloviki’.   Industrial production fell at a record pace in May.  Chastised Oleg Deripaska has said that he would like to see the government ‘fix the economy’.