‘We are already offering our customers New Year trips to Thailand and ski resorts in Austria, Switzerland, and Abzakovo. The most inexpensive holiday for two in Thailand will cost you about $5,000. Those willing to spend a vacation in Switzerland between December 27, 2008 and January 10, 2009 will have to pay some ?4,200 per person for a stay at a four-star hotel,’ says director of Barkhatniy Sezon Travel Agency Tatiana Berseneva. ‘The cheapest winter recess tours available on January 2-10, 2009 will come to ?2,200 per person, excluding the cost of the flight,’ she added.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of private individuals’ deposits and other investments in Tagilbank valid for up to 30 days dropped by 37.09% (from 2.154 million RUR to 1.355 million RUR) in January-July 2008.

According to the National Managers’ League’s profitability ranking of unit investment trusts as of August 22, 2008, the share price of CIT Fortis Russian Telecommunications (CIT Fortis Investments Management Company) has gone down by 39.86% since the beginning of the year.

‘Our new deposit type known as The Magnificent Seven is a combination of seven advantages bank deposits can offer. We’ve looked in several deposit types and came to the conclusion that all the differences lie in seven basic parameters that shape the customer’s choices in the end,’ says URSA Bank’s Ural branch’s Vice President Alexei Sannikov. ‘The first advantage lies in the nice interest rate. The second one consists in the fact that the interest rate on deposit increases automatically as more money is transferred into the deposit account. The third advantage lies in the possibility of

‘Primexpo claims they are coordinating a kind of industrial exhibition yet unique to Yekaterinburg, but this is not quite true. We’ve had plenty of exhibitions like this, including, for example, Ural - Techno, Science, and Business that featured all the industrial branches. This fair has been held in Yekaterinburg for fifteen years now,’ says Natalya Bessonova, who runs an exhibition-coordinating company. Saint Petersburg-based Primexpo announced it was about to enter Sverdlovsk Region’s exhibition and fair market with its IndustryExpo project scheduled for November 2008. ‘Universal fairs are

‘Prices keep rising drastically in Sverdlovsk Region, and food prices are no exception. One has to realize, however, that the region cannot be isolated from the events that affect the whole country’s economy,’ First Deputy Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government and Minister of Economics and Labor Mikhail Maximov said in the course of a press conference in Yekaterinburg. ‘One fundamental challenge Russia has to face is related to the fact that people’s expenses go up faster than their actual income. The country’s income rose by 8%, while the spending increased by 16%. This can’t go on for much

‘Several offices were burgled at 8 Lenin St. in Yekaterinburg on August 26, 2008. A group of law-enforcement officers is working on the scene of the crime now,’ Leninskiy district’s Internal Affairs Administration shift superintendent Anatoly Nefedov reports. The building at 8 Lenin St. used to host Yekaterinburg non-ferrous metals processing plant but is now let to several companies.

Ural Airlines is to start operating an additional direct Yekaterinburg-Nadym-Yekaterinburg flight on September 2, 2008 in order to meet the passengers’ increased needs. The flight will be performed on an An 24 airplane. The plane takes off in Yekaterinburg at 8.50 AM and arrives in Nadym at 11.50 AM; then the plane leaves Nadym at 12.45 PM and lands in Yekaterinburg at 4 PM, the airline’s press officer reports.

According to the National Managers’ League profitability ranking of unit investment trusts as of August 22, 2008, the share price of BCS Fund Index MICEX (BrokerCreditService Management Company) has gone down by 25.23% since the beginning of the year.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in UralFinPromBank valid for 91 to 180 days plummeted by 100% (from 200,000 RUR to zero) in January-July 2008.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service’s Krasnoyarsk division imposed a 40,000-ruble fine on Baltika, the beer manufacturer, for violating the advertising legislation, the spokesperson for the Service reports. The Service’s Krasnoyarsk division examined Baltika No.7 beer ad that could be seen in the city’s streets and public places in January 2008. It was detected that the size of the warning about the health hazards related to drinking alcohol was not big enough: according to the law, the warning must take up at least 10% of the ad’s total area. As a result, Baltika was fined and would have to pay

‘Sverdlovsk Region dwellers began booking New Year tours as early as August. Most of them are interested in trips to the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Egypt, and the Czech Republic as usual,’ Wings Travel Club’s manager Oxana Sharipova said to UrBC. ‘At the moment, we can only sell tours to Thailand. A holiday for two will cost about $5,000 on average. Trips to other wintertime destinations will be available a little later,’ she added.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of private individuals’ deposits in Bank24.ru valid for 181 days to 1 year went down by 35.89% (from 153.118 million RUR to 98.163 million RUR) in January-July 2008.

Sverdlovsk Region’s division of the Federal Antimonopoly Service laid a claim against Bank Severnaya Kazna related to the latter’s alleged violation of the federal bill on advertising, the spokesperson for the Service reports. The bank’s advertisements are reported to be missing some information on the customers’ expenses related to the opening of a bank account, and insurance of life and working ability. Then, one of the ads did not inform the customers that the bank was allowed to change the interest rate on the loan at will. Another violation was connected with lack of information about

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of private individuals’ demand deposits and other investments in UniCreditBank went down by 19.7% (from 373.938 million RUR to 300.243 million RUR) in January-July 2008.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in Uralfinance valid for 181 days to 1 year went down by 86.61% (from 38.1 million RUR to 5.1 million RUR) in January-July 2008.

SKB-Bank’s new representations welcome customers in Kazan and Khabarovsk. The Kazan office can be found at 306 Chernyshevskiy St., while the one in Khabarovsk is located at 22a Postyshev St. ‘The geographical positioning of the offices is not coincidental. Khabarovsk enjoys the well-deserved reputation of being the capital of Russia’s Far East; it is the region’s second most populated city and the country’s fourth largest city in terms of area. Khabarovsk is one of the Far Eastern cities with enormous industrial, transportation, cultural, and scientific potential, while Kazan is a home to

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of loans given by Perviy Respublikanskiy Bank to sole traders for over 3 years dropped by 51.69% (from 9.585 million RUR to 4.63 million RUR) in January-July 2008.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of for-profit self-regulatory organizations’ deposits in Sverdlovsk Gubernskiy Bank valid for 91 to 180 days went down by 60.44% (from 60.002 million RUR to 23.736 million RUR) in January-July 2008.

UC RUSAL has voted against Interros’s proposal that Norilsk Nickel use cash funds to buy back the company’s shares. UC RUSAL has consistently advocated that funds not used in investment programmes should be distributed among all shareholders by way of a dividend. We believe that a dividend payment is the most effective form of using unallocated cash funds in the interest of all shareholders. Furthermore a dividend payment would not infringe upon the rights of minority shareholders who have no intention to sell their shares. We believe Interros has seized upon the buy back instead of a