UrBC, Yekaterinburg, August 9, 2016. Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ) took part in a job fair at Chelyabinsk Employment Center, the company press service reports. The plant welcomes qualified coremakers, molders, fettlers, pattern-makers, millers, flame cutting torch operators, and test drivers. ‘This increased demand for blue-collar workers has to do with our ambitious plans to increase production output. Our HR Department aims to take on the best skilled workers, who are offered good pay, a benefits package, and dormitory accommodation for single men,’ the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, August 9, 2016. The telecommunications provider MegaFon is now offering its traveling customers the Neighboring Countries Package which will cut down on their mobile communication costs when roaming, the company press service reports. Neighboring Countries Package covers incoming and outgoing calls at 3 RUR per minute (ten times cheaper against the regular price) and text messages at 3 RUR per text. Mobile Internet access comes for 9.9RUR per Mb (the average non-roaming price). The package costs 33 RUR a day. ‘Belarus and Kazakhstan are the most popular destinations with

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, August 9, 2016. For the first time since February 2015, prices on Yekaterinburg existing home market stopped declining, N1.RU reports. ‘The price of a square meter came to 70,410 RUR on average in July; this is virtually the same as in June, when the price stood at 70,390 RUR. For the first time since February 2015, housing prices remained stable even if they did not rise. Prior to this, housing used to lose 0.2% to 1.3% of its value every month for one and a half years in a row. On the other hand, the market supply remained the same in July as one month earlier,’ the

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, August 9, 2016. Sverdlovsk Region proved the country’s third largest lending market in the second quarter of 2016, outstripped only by Moscow and Saint Petersburg, United Credit Bureau’s press service reports. 210,400 loans (26.78bn RUR in toto) were issued in the constituency between April and June. Sverdlovsk Region was also the country’s fourth largest cash loan market: nearly 138,000 such loans (15.3bn RUR in toto) were issued here, with the average loan amount at 110,900 RUR. Finally, the constituency proved the country’s fourth largest credit card-issuing market: on

UrBC, Moscow, August 9, 2016. Russia’s foreign trade turnover reached $210.4bn in January-June 2016, which is 22.3% less than one year earlier, banki.ru refers to Russia’s Federal Customs Service as stating. The country’s export surplus currently stands at $50.5bn, which is $44.7bn less than one year earlier. Export figures came to $130.4bn (-28.7%), imports came to $79.9bn (-8.9%). China was Russia’s primary partner in the first half the year, with trade turnover at $28.3bn (-7.4% against one year earlier). Other major partners are Italy (-45.8%), Turkey (-41.1%), and France (+6.2%).