UrBC, Moscow, October 26, 2016. Russia’s GDP shrank by 0.7% in the nine months of the year and by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2016; the figure is expected to come to 0.6% by the end of the year, RIA Novosti refers to Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Velev as stating. ‘The country’s GDP declined by 0.5% in three months and by 0.7% in nine months since January. Our forecast is a 0.6% decrease by the end of the year,’ he said. According to Rosstat, Russia’s GDP went down by 0.9% in the first half of 2016, by 0.6% in the second quarter, and by 1.2% in the first quarter of the year.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 26, 2016. 104 road accidents involving pedestrians were registered in Sverdlovsk Region in September and October 2016, with twenty-five people killed. This is 56% more than one year earlier (sixteen people were killed last year). According to Federal Authority for Road Traffic Safety Sverdlovsk Region division, eighty-one people also got wounded. Every one in two pedestrians involved turned out to be under the influence of an intoxicant. ‘Every year, this is the early fall period when there is still no snow yet it rains a lot and gets dark early that the number of

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 26, 2016. SKB-Bank Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board Margarita Burbik is going to pay a visit to Kyrgyzstan as a member of Sverdlovsk Region’s business mission, the bank’s press service reports. The delegates are to travel to Kyrgyzstan on October 24-28 in order to network with representatives of Kyrgyz business community and promote Sverdlovsk Region’s hi tech produce on the local markets. ‘SKB-Bank is Sverdlovsk Region Government’s authorized dealer and, as such, is willing to provide the two countries’ business parties with the financial infrastructure

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 26, 2016. Russian Copper Company’s member enterprises made 132,694,000 kg of copper cathodes in the nine months of 2016 (compared with 103,726,000 kg one year earlier), the company press service reports. ‘This noticeable output increase may prove this year’s primary production achievement. Copper cathodes are among the company’s best-selling products alongside copper concentrate, copper wire rods, zinc concentrate, and high karat gold and silver; they are made at Kyshtym Copper Electrolysis Plant, Novgorod Metallurgical Plant, and Uralgidromed,’ the press service

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, October 26, 2016. Workers of ChTPZ Group’s Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant and Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant are going to represent their employer at the 3d blue-collar job championship WorldSkills Hi Tech, the Group’s press service reports. The championship will be held in Yekaterinburg on October 30-November 3. The Group’s seven choicest workers are to prove their professional skills in six different categories. Silver winner of the 4th WorldSkills Russia Championship Nikolai Vinogradov will compete in Industrial Automation. First prize winner of the 4th WorldSkills