UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 3, 2015. 33,079 Sverdlovsk Region residents registered as unemployed by June 1, 2015. The overall unemployment figure rose by 200 people, up from 32,869 people on April 30, 2015, Sverdlovsk Region Labor & Employment Department reports. At the same time, the number of vacancies went up from 29,774 on April 30 to 35,125 on June 1, with the official unemployment rate at 1.45%. As for Yekaterinburg, the number of available jobs has remained nearly the same, 16,691 (against 16,768 in late April), the number of the unemployed changed from 5,512 in late April to 5,493

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 3, 2015. Suppliers increased their building materials prices by 10% to 15% as the high season is about to begin, Oboronsnabsbyt’s press service reports. ‘No dramatic price increases are to be expected, but building and finishing materials, especially imported ones, will probably grow a bit more expensive, despite the stronger ruble and a more stable exchange rate. The price of Russian building materials is also rising in rough proportion to the foreign currency exchange rate, even though this makes no economic sense,’ says Oboronsnabsbyt Director-General and manager

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 3, 2015. 42.9% of Sverdlovsk Region-based banks were faced with losses as of April 1, 2015, the Bank of Russia’s website states. The loss-making banks’ negative return amounted to 284.7mn RUR against 66.8m RUR a month earlier, when the share of loss-making banks only stood at 14.3%. As of March 1,2015, 57.1% of local banks were making profit: this came to 1.046bn RUR against 736.3m RUR a month earlier.

UrBC, Moscow, June 3, 2015. Sixty more new-generation trams made by Polish PESA and Russian Uralvagonzavod Corporation will arrive in Moscow before the end of the year, Mosgortrans reports. ‘Moscow will get sixty more new-generation trams before the year ends. All of them will be added to the capital’s public transport network immediately upon arrival,’ the organization says. According to the carrier, there are currently about sixty such trams operating in Moscow already. Head of Moscow Transport & Road Infrastructure Development Department Maxim Liksutov announced earlier that around 120

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 3, 2015. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant/ChTZ (a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) celebrated its 82nd anniversary on June 1, the corporation’s press service reports. ‘The company welcomed all sorts of visitors on this day, including plant workers, their children, long-service employees, and all those curious to see the plant ‘on the inside’, in places where you normally need a special pass to get into. It has been the company’s long-standing tradition for many years to invite locals to join in the celebrations. It is for a good

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 2, 2015. Ural Federal University is planning to make around 160 members of teaching stuff in two of its colleges redundant, UFU lecturer and co-chair of Interregional Academics’ Trade Union Dmitri Trynov informed UrBC. Trynov says the expected redundancies have to do with the need to convert UFU into a scientific research center. ‘We have been informed that an order to fire 91 people in Metallurgical Institute and 70 people in the Higher School of Economics & Managements has been issued. Both colleges’ directors have already asked their respective heads of chairs

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 2, 2015. UralBusinessConsulting, an information and analytics agency, signed an agreement with the U.S.-based LexisNexis. LexisNexis is a global supplier of information and analytical solutions for businesses. The company offers its customers integrated online databases on international law, economic security, risk management, marketing, public relations, and intellectual property protection. LexisNexis solutions are popular with lawyers, economic security and risk management experts, compliance and AML specialists, people in the marketing and PR sector, business

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 2, 2015. Mikheyevsky Ore Mining & Processing Enterprise has embarked on a program for artificial renewal of aquatic biological resources, Russian Copper Company Group’s PR & Social Policy Department reports. ‘The project involves the restoration of peled (Coregonus peled, a valuable species from the whitefish family). Peled is found in rivers and lakes of Ob and Irtysh basins, including the River Karataly-Ayat, whose dams are used for Mikheyevsky’s industrial needs,’ the Department says. The funding for the project is provided by the ore mining and processing

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 2, 2015. A children’s festival dedicated to International Day for Protection of Children was held in Karabash town hall on June 1. The event was coordinated by Russian Copper Company’s charity foundation, RCC Group’s PR & Social Policy Department reports. Over 150 children from Karabash kindergartens came to watch a musical performed by actors from Zhivoy Teatr, a Yekaterinburg-based fit-up musical company directed by Alexander Pantykin. The performers arrived in Karabash specifically for Children’s Day celebrations. Zhivoy Teatr presented a story of two

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 2, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s head plant in Nizhniy Tagil coordinated Young Family 2015 Contest. According to the company press service, the first prize went to the Meling family – Sergey, Olga, and their children Sofia and Demid, who can now join the city-wide round of the contest and compete for the grand-prix, an apartment. ‘For one and a half months, contestants worked hard on their final performance: a presentation called Our Family’s Fairy Tale and a talent show. The performances were assessed by a panel of judges, including head of youth policy and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 1, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation handed out keys to new homes to seventeen of its workers. According to the company press service, employees from the head plant’s mechanical assembly department and their families will be able to move into new studios and one-bedroom apartments on the first of June on rental terms. ‘The apartments were offered to turners and millers, machine operators and mechanicals, drillers, and electricians from mechanical assembly, chief electrician’s, welding, and other departments,’ the press service says. Sverdlovsk Region Legislative

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 1, 2015. 13,604 new passenger and light commercial vehicles were sold in Yekaterinburg in January through April 2015, which signified a 49% decrease against a year earlier, Auto Dealer Yekaterinburg reports. The market shrank by 48% in April, with 3,383 cars getting sold. This figure was worse than in February and March, even though the market sagged by as much as 54% in March 2015. Hyundai was the only brand on the Top10 list whose sales actually went up, while Lada proved the best-selling car in April, which meant Nissan had to yield its second place on the list.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 1, 2015. The turnover of Sverdlovsk Region-based small businesses amounted to 973.5bn RUR in 2014, which was 5.9% less than in 2013, Sverdlovskstat reports. There were 81,800 small businesses operating in the area last year against 81,700 companies a year earlier, thus giving Sverdlovsk Region the third position in the overall country rating. 45.9% of these businesses pertained to wholesale and retail trade sector, 10.6% were involved in the building industry, and 7.6% were in the transportation and communications sector. Small businesses employed 406,300 people last

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, June 1, 2015. Some 50,000 m2 worth of new office space got commissioned in Yekaterinburg in the first quarter of the year; however, there were very few tenants in the new buildings, Ural Chamber of Real Estate reports. The chamber’s analysts feel the commercial estate market is going through a deepening recession occasioned mostly by overall economic factors, just like in the past. Among these factors are shrinking investments, closing businesses, slowing-down wholesale turnover and dropping retail one. ‘These were at work as early as 2014, and the current state of events

UrBC, Moscow, June 1, 2015. 3,112 new cars were sold on Sverdlovsk Region market in April; 1,235 (39.7%) of them were bought on credit, Avtostat and National Bureau of Credit History report. In Russia overall, 110,479 cars were sold in April 2015, of which 35% were purchased with borrowed funds. The figure came to 20.1% in Q1’15 and to 40.5% in 2014. ‘New automobiles market was 49% smaller in April 2015 than in April 2014. However, more support from the banking sector gives hope that car sales might increase,’ says Avtostat Executive Director Sergey Udalov.

May 29, 2015. Sverdlovsk Region-based businesses’ consolidated overdue debt came to 40bn RUR, Interfax refers to head of Prodolg.RF Oleg Moskovsky as saying. In the neighboring Chelyabinsk Region, the companies’ past-due debts amounted to 35bn RUR. According to Moskovsky, these figures comprise 20 to 28bn RUR worth of unpaid taxes and levies, 20 to 30bn RUR worth of overdue loan payments, 4 to 8bn RUR worth of electricity bills, and 4 to 8bn RUR worth of unpaid utility bills.

May 29, 2015. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development brought the minimum interest rate on its consumer loans (Open and A Minute’s Wait) down to 17% a year and to 22% a year (Retirement), the bank’s press service reports. ‘We are trying to reach quickly to market changes, so we were some of the first to come up with more affordable loan terms for our customers. This is especially topical right now, since people tend to need more money as the summer comes, that is, to spend more on traveling, remodeling, and dacha investments. The family budget is often insufficient for the purpose,

May 29, 2015. Bank Koltso Urala’s profits stemming from POS transactions tripled in the last three quarters, the bank’s press service reports. ‘Thanks to introduction of a flat rate for our acquiring services, Bank Koltso Urala managed to increase its POS sales by six times. Starting from last April, both our acquiring service profits and our customers’ trade turnovers have been growing steadily,’ says the bank’s executive Kirill Sorokin. According to Sorokin, the average monthly turnover now comes to 90,000 RUR per POS terminal. ‘Offering our customers a flat rate proved the best scenario

May 29, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s company magazine Technowars dedicated its latest issue to the first Russian Armata tank. Editor-in-Chief Alexei Basov says this is ‘the most extraordinary issue in the magazine’s entire history.’ The new issue dwells upon the possibilities of upgrading Abrams and Leopard tanks and upon the tank fleets in the Asian and Pacific Rim. There is also a detailed catalogue of the world’s major combat vehicles and articles on the future defense aids and anti-tank missiles. The magazine’s feature article is dedicated to the creation and future development of

May 29, 2015. Uralvagonzavod Corporation’s Volchansk Mechanical Plant is planning to produce a test sample of dump car 33-9985 with freight capacity of 105,000 kg. The design documentation was developed by the corporation’s Ural Railway-Building Design Office, their press service reports. ‘The dump car is meant for transportation of solid rocks and ore within industrial enterprises’ premises, from mines to crushing plants. This make is different from other freight carriages in that its body can unload substances in both directions. The body’s angle gets regulated by three air-operated