UrBC, Moscow, December 24, 2015. Over 50% of Russians felt their financial situation deteriorated this year, Finmarket refers to the Public Opinion Fund’s research findings as indicating. About 34% of respondents expect things to get worse in the upcoming year. They feel this could be due to probable price increases and inflation (19%) or insufficient salaries, wages, and pensions with no inflation rate adjustments (18%). Another 31% of those surveyed said they expected their income to remain the same as this year, and every one in five hopes things will get better. 13% of respondents said

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 24,2015. Food prices inflation rate was estimated at 15.2% in Sverdlovsk Region this year, Sverdlovskstat reports. Overall, the prices of consumer goods and services went up by 13.5%, with non-food items growing 14.5% more expensive and services growing 11.5% more expensive. The price of vegetable oil, tea, rice, frozen fish, apples, and vermicelli rose by 20%; that of sugar, salt, mutton, flour, and beef by 15%, that of milk by 10.2%, and that of vegetables went down by 0.6%.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 24, 2015. ChTPZ Group’s employees are going to take part in the international stand-up comedy contest KiViN 2016 in Sochi on January 11-25, the company press service reports. The company is sending the teams which proved the best in the corporate competitions this year: Yin Yang from Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant and Molodezhka from Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (both companies are the Group’s member enterprises). ‘This is the first time our stand-up comedy teams are entering an international arena. Taking part in an international event is a great opportunity for

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 24, 2015. Electromachine (a member enterprise of Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation) coordinated an improvement proposals contest for this year among its workers. According to the company press service, the employees’ improvement proposals are all part of the lean production system and the idea is to involve each and every worker in the production improvement process. The company’s lean production committee considers applications on a monthly basis; 161 proposals were submitted this year, of which 99 were related to improvements in working conditions, 19 were related

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, December 24, 2015. A new metal treatment lab was recently opened at Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Personnel Training Center. The lab is part of Ural Federal University’s Nizhniy Tagil-based Department of Machine-Building, the company press service reports. The symbolic red-ribbon-cutting ceremony was performed by the Center’s Director Sergei Vassilyev and Director of Ural Federal University Nizhniy Tagil Institute Vladimir Pegashkin. All the new equipment was purchased for the lab as part of the educational infrastructure development project. ‘A special department with

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 24, 2015. The international rating agency Moody’s promoted Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) from Ba3 to Ba2 and upped its PDR from Ba3-PD to Ba2-PD, with Positive rating outlook. This upgrade was first and foremost due to a considerable improvement in the company’s financial performance over the last two years and a decrease of the overall debt burden (debt/EBITDA ratio) down to 1.8x in late 2014 and down to 1.2x by the end of September 2015, which is the point at which Moody’s upgrades ratings of companies in the below 2.5x range. Despite the expected

UrBC, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, December 24, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) shipped its 2,000,000th ton of metal goods to Uraltrubprom in December 2015. ‘The company will have delivered 255,000,000 kg of rolled metal goods to Uraltrubprom by the end of the year; these goods comprise most of MMK’s product range, including section pieces, hot- and cold-rolled items, and products with polymeric coating,’ the company press service says. Most of the products supplied are hot-rolled rolls used for making round, rectangular, and square steel, electrically welded pipes. The

UrBC, Chelyabinsk, December 24, 2015. Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) and Pipe Metallurgical Company/TMK signed an agreement on how the price the latter will have to pay for the former’s hot-rolled steel sheets will be determined. The paper was signed by MMK Director-General Pavel Shilyaev and TMK Director-General Alexander Shiryaev, the two companies’ joint press release states. The price formula is based on direct cost pricing, with such primary variables as the cost of metallurgical raw stuffs and materials and the cost of manufacturing a steel sheet. The formula also provides