Today in Russian Business – March 2, 2011

According to Reuters, the ruble has hit a nine-month peak against the euro-dollar basket, after Russia widened its trading band to put off speculators while simultaneously permitting more currency appreciation to help combat inflation.  General Motors has announced it plans to increase production in Russia to 350,000 cars a year.  Fiat’s planned partnership with Sollers may have collapsed, but will the Italian car maker go it alone in one of the world’s fastest-growing auto markets?   Japanese automaker Mitsubishi may approach French partner Peugeot-Citroen on the joint production of another model at their Russian assembly plant, in an attempt to meet tougher Russian rules which aim at increasing the local content of cars made in the country.  A London court has blocked an attempt by Telenor to prevent the dilution of its stake in Vimpelcom, facilitating the Russian group’s plans to buy Naguib Sawiris telecom assets.  IKEA’s refusal to return to Russia reflects a widespread trepidation among foreign investors, argues an article in Bloomberg.  Find out here which decision by Sberbank has gleaned support from blogger and activist Alexei Navalny.