A modernized electric dust-trapping filter has recently been re-launched at the agglomeration shop of Vanadium Ore Mining and Processing Enterprise of Kachkanar (part of Evraz Group), reports the spokesperson for Evraz. The device is fitted with powerful electrodes capable of trapping the tiniest bits of iron-ore concentrate known as agglomeration dust. Now, the facility will reduce the harmful atmospheric emissions by 3,500 tons a year. In addition, recovered dust can be used for further production of concentrate. The repair process began in September 2006; in a few months, the dust-catching

‘The ticket sale of Ural Airlines covering summer flights is going to be very popular with travelers,’ says Tatiana Serebryakova, director of Eldorado Tour Travel Agency. (Anyone willing to get to the Black Sea in the summer can buy a single ticket for only 3,999 RUR from February 1 to March 31, 2007.) ‘Traveling by plane is much faster and more comfortable than taking the train, whereas the prices are pretty much the same. People will naturally choose to take advantage of this bargain offered by the carrier,’ Ms Serebryakova explains.

SKODA JS a.s. (based in the Czech Republic), part of United Machine Building Works (aka OMZ (Obedinennye Mashinostroitelnye Zavody, formerly United Heavy Machinery), has recently signed a contract for the delivery of a TC1 transportation container to Paul Scherrer Institut of Switzerland. The deal is worth about ?500,000, with the delivery scheduled for the beginning of 2008. The diameter of the container should come to 1.1 meters, its length to 6 meters, and weight to 40 tons. It will be used for Megapie (Megawatt Pilot Target Experiment), the international nuclear research project, namely,

According to the Central Bank of Russia, the volume of investments placed by nongovernmental commercial bodies with UralTransBank in form of deposits for a term of 181 days to 1 year went down 60.8% (from 149,572,000 RUR to 58,549,000 RUR) from January 2006 to January 2007.

MegaFon Ural, the mobile operator, is offering its subscribers a new extended USSD-inquiry service. One can now learn if the 30-MB Internet traffic package is provided for their MegaFon Modem tariff or get information on the number of text messages covered by the monthly subscription fee (this concerns Student tariff) at 100 16#. The same USSD-inquiry can also be used for updates on the amount of conversation time covered by the fee. The current account information is still available at 100#.

‘Existing home prices might go up 25% to 35% this year,’ Alexander Dmitriev, director of Dial Real-Estate Agency, said to UrBC representative. ‘The price of a square meter of dwelling grew by more than 100% last year, and it was clear in December already that the market could not possibly sustain this pace. So the price growth rate has slowed down, even though the prices still tend to go up. I am inclined to see this as some kind of inertia, as the realtors haven’t been able to adapt to the new conditions yet. The growth rate will get even slower in a couple of months,’ Mr. Dmitriev said. ‘It

The experts of SKB-Bank’s Mortgage Lending Center have developed and launched a new product consisting in offering a client a mortgage loan meant for covering the one obtained earlier. ‘The need for this offer has been keenly felt for quite a while. The annual interest rate on mortgage loans in Russia has been gradually decreasing from 18% to 11% over the last three years, so mortgage is becoming available to more and more people,’ says Anna Samuilova, the bank’s Mortgage Lending Director ‘Both the life of the people and the country’s economy kept changing, whereas the interest rate on an

The Central Bank of Russia made a list of the country’s largest credit bureaus and indicated the number of dossiers provided by the banks (the Central Catalogue now contains over 15 million credit record entries). Among the largest credit bureaus are: Global Payments Credit Services Ltd., National Banking History Bureau, InfoCredit, and Experian-Interfax. These companies store over 92% of all Russian natural persons and legal entities’ records. ‘UralFinPromBank has been cooperating with National Banking History Bureau. When choosing a business partner, we looked at the quantity and quality of

‘The regional banking services market developed more dynamically in 2006 than one year earlier,’ Andrei Yemelyanov, Strategic Development Director of Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said to UrBC. ‘This development can be traced in the financial indicators of the banks’ activity. The natural person deposits, for instance, grew by 67% against 64% in 2005, the loan portfolios increased by 75% against only 32% a year earlier. Legal entities started investing more as well; their share of deposits went up 84% against 75% in 2005. On average, the banks offered fewer loans to

Andrei Denisov, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, notified Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel that the ministry agreed to let the French Embassy in Russia set up their Consulate General in Yekaterinburg. The would-be consulate will cater for Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Chelyabinsk, and Tyumen Regions, as well as for Khanty-Mansiyskiy and Yamalo-Nenetskiy Autonomous Regions. It is expected to start operating as soon as September 1, 2007 and will thus become France’s second Consulate General in Russia (the first consulate has been operating in Saint