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☆ Putin has bet Russia's entire economy on war. An expert says it's his best shot at maintaining control of the country.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vladimir Putin bet his economy on a long war, ramping up military production and raising wages. An expert told Insider keeping Russia's economy stable is critical to prevent regime collapse. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementAdvertisementVladimir Putin has fully transitioned the Russian economy toward wartime production, betting his country's financial and manufacturing systems can outlast the West's until Russia sees a military victory in Ukraine. As long as the country maintains some semblance of the status quo in the economy, English said he doesn't expect to see things changing.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Robert English, —, Putin, Vasily Astrov Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Street Journal, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, ., Government of, Russian Federation, University of Southern Locations: Russia, USSR, Ukraine, Russian, University of Southern California

[1/2] A view shows a Russian one rouble coin in front of a screen in this illustration picture taken August 22, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 5 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened past 100 to the dollar to a more than seven-week low as President Vladimir Putin spoke on Thursday, hurt by reduced foreign currency supply from exporters early in the month. By 1535 GMT, the rouble was 0.7% weaker against the dollar at 100.30 , its weakest point since Aug. 14. The rouble has lost support of a favourable month-end tax period that usually sees exporters convert FX revenues to meet local liabilities. "But this will happen either in the second half of the month or when the exchange rate goes above 100 roubles per dollar," Antonov said.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Russian rouble, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Bogdan Zvarich, Alexei Antonov, Antonov, Alexander Marrow, Angus MacSwan, Paul Simao, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Brent, Thomson Locations: Russian, Sochi, United States, Ukraine, Moscow, Alor

By 1150 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% stronger against the dollar at 99.17, having hit 100.2550 in early trade, a more than seven-week low. "There is still no cause for concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Expensive oil and an increase in the key rate are improving the outlook for the rouble, but in the medium-term," Promsvyazbank analysts said. They expected the rouble to make a short-lived move beyond 100 to the dollar in the absence of new support measures from the authorities. "This level (100) is not a technical resistance, it's an important psychological barrier," said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Dmitry Peskov, Brent, Vladimir Putin's, Alexei Antonov, Lidia Kelly, Alexander Marrow, Andrew Heavens, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of Russia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Melbourne, London

In 2021, the year before Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, defence spending totalled 3.57 trillion roubles, 14.4% of total spending. In 2022, the share of defence spending rose to 17.7%, data on Russia's electronic budget page showed earlier this year. That may mean that defence spending will also be significantly higher than first envisaged. Moscow doubled its target for defence spending in 2023 to 9.7 trillion roubles, Reuters reported exclusively in August, citing a government document. EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE FREEZEAs defence spending in 2024 triples from pre-invasion levels, the share of spending on "national security", which covers funding for law enforcement agencies, is also rising, set to reach 9.2% in 2024, the documents showed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Metzel, Anton Siluanov, Siluanov, Donets, Dmitry Peskov, Darya, Alexander Marrow, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS, Defence, Reuters, CIS, Renaissance, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Ukraine, Russian

Oct 2 (Reuters) - Russian technology company Astra on Monday said it was planning to list its shares on Moscow Exchange this month in an initial public offering (IPO), potentially breathing some life into Russia's moribund equity capital markets. Electric scooter firm Whoosh (WUSH.MM) was the only Russian firm to hold an IPO last year, but its debut raised less than half its initial target and relied heavily on Russian retail investors for capital. Astra dominates Russia's operating system (OS) market with its Astra Linux software. Alfa Bank analysts valued Astra, which more than doubled its core earnings year on year to 5.4 billion roubles in 2022, at around 70 billion-90 billion roubles ($707 million-$909 million) in a report published on Monday. Also on Monday, spirits producer Kristall said it was hoping to raise 1.5 billion roubles in a fourth quarter IPO on Moscow Exchange, something it said would significantly accelerate growth.

Persons: pipemaker, Ilya Sivtsev, Sivtsev, Kristall, Alexander Marrow, Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Astra, Moscow, Astra Linux, Reuters, Alfa Bank, Moscow Exchange, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine

KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Pakistan's rupee has gained 6.1% against the dollar so far in September, following an official clampdown on illegal foreign exchange trade in grey and black markets by security agencies. September's gains have almost made up for all of the rupee's losses in August and technically make it the best-perfoming currency in the world this month. The Pakistani rupee closed 0.3% up in the interbank market at 287.8 per dollar on Thursday. The crackdown on black market operators against the informal market resulted in tens of millions of dollars pouring back into Pakistan's interbank and open markets, dealers said. "The rupee has indeed performed well but this data does not reflect the sharp depreciation preceding this performance.

Persons: Fahad Rauf, Ismail Iqbal, Rauf, Ariba Shahid, Jane Merriman, Sharon Singleton, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Finance Ministry, Research, Ismail, Ismail Iqbal Securities, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Karachi

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia would return to following its budget rule in 2024, envisaging an oil price of $60 per barrel. The government was discussing budget plans for the next three years. Bloomberg News reported that Russia is also planning a huge hike in defence spending next year, swelling to 6% of GDP from 3.9% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2021. Siluanov said Russia planned to raise domestic borrowing to more than 4 trillion roubles annually to fund its deficits. Siluanov said Russia's NWF would hold 6.7 trillion roubles by end-2024, down from 13.7 trillion roubles, or 9.1% of GDP as of Sept. 1.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Denis Manturov, Alexei Krivoruchko, Mikhail Metzel, Mikhail Mishustin, Mishustin, Anton Siluanov, Siluanov, Russia's, Vladimir Soldatkin, Darya Korsunskaya, Alexander Marrow, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Finance, National Wealth Fund, Bloomberg News, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Izhevsk, Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine

National flag flies over the Russian Central Bank headquarters in Moscow, Russia May 27, 2022. On Friday, it gave hawkish guidance that it would consider further rate increases at upcoming meetings and said inflationary risks remained significant. The central bank adjusted its year-end forecast for inflation to 6.0-7.0% from 5.0-6.5%. "Russia's central bank is a hawkish institution that takes its commitment to inflation fighting seriously," said Senior Emerging Markets Economist Liam Peach. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina will shed more light on the bank's forecasts and policy in a media briefing at 1200 GMT.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, jacking, Liam Peach, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Alexander Marrow, Elena Fabrichnaya, Darya Korsunskaya, Maria Kiselyova, Amruta Khandekar, Andrew Osborn, William Maclean, Catherine Evans Organizations: Russian Central Bank, REUTERS, Kremlin, Capital Economics, Central Bank Governor, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, Ukraine MOSCOW, Ukraine, London

☆ U.S. Treasury official says Iraq must act to avoid further action on banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Employees walk at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Iraq in Baghdad, Iraq August 15, 2023. Despite the crackdown, the senior U.S. Treasury official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were still other Iraqi banks operating with risks "that must be remediated". Iraq's central bank governor has said Iraq is committed to implementing tighter financial regulations and combating the smuggling of dollars. The central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. However, there were still "vested interests comfortable with the status quo that can create friction to driving change," the Treasury official said, without identifying who these were.

Persons: Ahmed Saad, Farhad Alaadin, Alaadin, Saddam Hussein, Mohammed Shia Al, Timour Azhari, Alexander Smith Organizations: Central Bank of, REUTERS, Treasury, U.S, Reuters, Iraqi, U.S . Federal, Iraq, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: Central Bank of Iraq, Baghdad, Iraq, Iran, BAGHDAD, U.S, United States, Iraqi, Iranian, Tehran, Iraq's

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Russian retailer Magnit (MGNT.MM) said on Thursday it had fully completed a deal to buy back blocked shares from Western investors at a 50% discount by purchasing shares held through Euroclear, the first such arrangement since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Magnit said it had bought back 21,903,163.8 shares from shareholders, representing about 21.5% of all issued and outstanding shares at an amount of around 48.5 billion roubles ($507.32 million). "Magnit's GDR program depositary bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, also took part, as well as international investors," Magnit said, such as hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds and individuals. Magnit had tripled the size of its original offer after strong demand from Western investors. Russia's presidential office is currently reviewing a request from oil major Lukoil (LKOH.MM) to buy back up to 25% of its shares from foreign investors.

Persons: Magnit, Russia's, Magnit's, JPM, JP, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: Reuters, Nordic, Magnit, Euroclear Bank, RIC, Kremlin, JPMorgan, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Thomson Locations: Euroclear, Ukraine, Russian, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Magnit, Russia, Uzbekistan, Magnit's Moscow, Washington, GDR

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it was expelling two U.S. diplomats whom it accused of working with a Russian national charged with collaborating with a foreign state. "The named people conducted illegal activity, maintaining contact with Russian citizen R. Shonov, accused of 'confidential cooperation' with a foreign state," the Russian statement said. In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Shonov had been paid to complete tasks aimed at damaging Russia's national security. Relations between Russia and the United States have plunged to their worst point for more than 60 years because of the war in Ukraine. The United States is providing advanced weaponry to Ukraine and has hit Russia with sanctions in response to its invasion in February 2022.

Persons: Lynne Tracy, Jeffrey Sillin, David Bernstein, Shonov, Robert Shonov, Sillin, Bernstein, Tracy, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Foreign Ministry, State Department, U.S . Consulate, United, Russian Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: Russia, Russian, U.S, Washington, Vladivostok, Ukraine, United States, Moscow

On Sunday, Evergrande reported losses of 33 billion yuan ($4.53 billion) for the first half of the year, versus a 66.4 billion yuan loss in the same period a year earlier. The Chinese property sector’s worsening debt crisis poses a significant challenge for President Xi Jinping and his policy makers, with the country’s economy already reeling from weaker domestic and overseas demand. China’s State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, declined to comment on the property market and Evergrande’s fate. He sold the first complex the following year for 80 million yuan, according to Evergrande’s website. The committee investigated the matter after banks seized 13.4 billion yuan ($1.84 billion)of deposits held by the property-services unit in 2021.

Persons: Aly, Hui Ka Yan, Hui, Evergrande, Suppliers haven’t, ”, Anne Stevenson, Yang, Evergrande’s, Xi Jinping, Reuters wasn’t, Kelly Richmond Pope, ” Hui, “ Evergrande, Stevenson, Engen Tham, Julie Zhu, Clare Jim, Cassell Bryan Organizations: China Evergrande Group, REUTERS, Rights, China Evergrande, HK, Reuters, Suppliers, J Capital Research, Information Office, Political, Conference, Guangzhou Evergrande, soccer’s, Hong, Forbes, HengTen Networks, Management, Chicago’s DePaul University, Evergrande, Financial, Communist Party, “, China, Shanghai, Cassell, Low, Thomson Locations: China, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, United States, U.S, China’s, Henan province, Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Evergrande, HengTen, Evergrande’s Hong Kong, Shanghai

The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. Moscow already demands a 50% discount on all foreign deals after consultants selected by the Russian government have valued the business. But three people familiar with the exit process for foreign companies said that some deals are facing demands for additional discounts before the government gives a green light. Another person, who works on M&A transactions and with foreign companies, said deals exceeding $100 million were at particular risk of being denied. In its biannual financial stability review, the central bank said foreign companies under pressure to leave Russia were doing so on "unfavourable" terms.

Persons: Evgenia, Carlsberg's, Intesa, Vladimir Putin's, Suren Gortsunyan, Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Alexey Kupriyanov, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Victor Goury, Josephine Mason, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Heineken, Arnest, Companies, Nasdaq, Russia, Dyakin, Partners, Aspring, Nato, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, MOSCOW, Russian, London, Laffont, Gdansk

☆ VIEW Turkey cements policy shift with super-sized rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A logo of Turkey's Central Bank is pictured at the entrance of its headquarters in Ankara, Turkey October 15, 2021. "We should recall that sudden changes in interest rates usually have a delayed effect. "This was also the steepest rate hike since the CBT management reshuffle after the elections in May. We think the strong rate hike meant to address market concerns that the CBT wanted to avoid significant rate hike." TIMOTHY ASH, BLUEBAY ASSET MANAGEMENT, LONDON"Really solid move by the CBRT (central bank) to hike policy rates arguably above expectations by 750bps to 25%."

Persons: Cagla, GRZEGORZ DROZDZ, TIMOTHY ASH, 750bps, Hatice Karahan, Hatice Gaye, PIOTR MATYS, Governor Erkan, Erdogan, LIAM PEACH, Erkan, OZKARDESKAYA, SWISSQUOTE Organizations: Turkey's Central, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Turkish, EMERGINGMARKETWATCH.COM, SOFIA, GENEVA

A Russian state flag flies over the Central Bank headquarters in Moscow, Russia, August 15, 2023. International sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine have blocked many Russian investors' access to securities held in jurisdictions outside the country, while Russian countermeasures have frozen Western funds within. "Interested foreign investors would be given the opportunity to buy 'blocked' foreign securities from Russian investors in exchange for funds held in type-C accounts," the central bank said. "The participation of investors (both Russian and foreign) in this process will be voluntary." Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Tuesday asked President Vladimir Putin to support the plans, starting with the unblocking of about 100 billion roubles ($1.06 billion) in frozen funds belonging to retail investors.

Persons: Shamil Zhumatov, Clearstream, Anton Siluanov, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Polevoy, Alexander Marrow, Devika Organizations: Central Bank, Bank of, REUTERS, Wednesday, Moscow, Thomson Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Bank of Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Locko

This, regulators say, makes it harder for banks to cut costs and absorb losses in a downturn. But many bankers are expected to resist swapping guaranteed pay for potentially higher bonuses, which can swing wildly across economic cycles. UK Finance, the industry body for banks in Britain, did not respond to the public consultation, leaving individual members to comment if they wanted to. Others warned against overplaying the significance of bonuses in Britain's battle to grow its financial sector, still reeling from the loss of big-ticket listings, such as Arm Holdings. "Compensation is a small point in the grand scheme of things of a vibrant financial sector.

Persons: Toby Melville, Luke Hildyard, there'll, Suzanne Horne, Paul Hastings, Horne, Simon Patterson, Edelmann, Oliver Wyman, Sinead Cruise, Huw Jones, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: City of, Regulators, European Union, Bank of England, Financial, Bankers, Reuters, European Banking Authority, International Employment, Britain, EU, Finance, Arm Holdings, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Banks, European, New York, Singapore, EU, Paris, Frankfurt, United States, Japan, Switzerland, London, Europe

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Faced with a liquidity crisis, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group will conduct a debt restructuring, the Chinese asset manager has told investors, as a deepening property sector downturn raises fears about spillover risks to the broader financial sector. Beijing-based Zhongzhi, which has sizable exposure to real estate, has stopped payment to investors in all investment products, its management told investors in a meeting on Wednesday, a video seen by Reuters showed. Zhongzhi's financial trouble is the latest challenge for Chinese authorities as they battle to contain a worsening property sector crisis and revive a faltering recovery in the world's second-largest economy. Zhongzhi has hired one of the Big Four accounting firms to conduct a comprehensive audit of the company, and is seeking strategic investors, its management told investors in Wednesday's meeting. Anxious retail investors are bombarding listed companies with questions about their exposure to Zhongrong after missed payments by the trust company triggered fears of contagion across the country's financial system.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Zhongzhi, Lehman, Evergrande, Jason Xue, Clare Jim, Sumeet Chatterjee, Jacqueline Wong, Jamie Freed Organizations: Zhongzhi Enterprise, Reuters, Big, International Trust Co, Citigroup, Zhongrong International Trust, China Evergrande, HK, Energy Vehicle Group, Evergrande, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Beijing, Wednesday's, China, China's, Shanghai, Hong Kong

☆ Zhongrong Trust's missed payments trigger fears among Chinese investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Investors look at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, March 7, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Anxious Chinese retail investors are bombarding listed companies with questions about their exposure to Zhongrong International Trust Co after missed payments by the trust company triggered fears of contagion across the country's financial system. Zhongrong managed assets worth 785.7 billion yuan ($107.69 billion) at the end of 2022, out of which 629.3 billion yuan were linked to trust products, according to its latest annual report. Its missed payments had added to stress in the financial sector from the country's worsening property crisis. One investor on Wednesday asked Shanghai-listed New China Life Insurance Company (601336.SS) - which owned 14 billion yuan ($1.92 billion) of products from Zhongrong at the end of last year - whether there was a risk of missed payments.

Persons: Aly, Huang Yan, Jason Xue, Tom Westbrook, Tomasz Janowski, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Zhongrong International, Co, Investors, Shanghai QiuYang, Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, Wednesday, Shanghai, China Life Insurance, KBC Corp, Bescient Technology, Shanghai New Vision Microelectronics, Nanhua, Jiangsu Azure Corp, Topsperity Securities, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Shenzhen, Zhongrong, Jiangsu, Singapore

[1/2] The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. Maksut Shadaev, the head of Russia's ministry of digital affairs, told parliament in December that around 100,000 IT specialists had left Russia in 2022. It is not yet clear whether Volozh's comments may have any bearing on how Russia decides to proceed with the company. One of the sources said "hawks" in state companies believed nothing at all should be paid to foreigners. Two sources said VTB had never been a serious option as a buyer, given sanctions on the state lender.

Persons: Yandex, Maksut Shadaev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Arkady Volozh, Andrei Kostin, VTB, Alexei Kudrin, Alexander Marrow, Polina Devitt, Mike Collett, White, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, nationalising Nasdaq, Reuters, Yandex NV, Yandex, U.S, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, nationalising, Ukraine, Serbia, Yandex

Arkady Volozh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yandex Group of Companies, attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 7, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File PhotoAug 10 (Reuters) - The co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), Arkady Volozh, on Thursday condemned what he described as Russia's "barbaric" invasion of Ukraine, days after criticism in Russia over his apparent efforts to distance himself from the country. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it," Volozh said in a statement. Volozh developed Yandex in Russia, creating the country's largest tech company and ultimately taking it public on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange in 2011. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yandex has sought to balance domestic pressure on one side with its Western investors on the other.

Persons: Arkady Volozh, Maxim, Volozh, –, Yandex, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely Organizations: Yandex, of Companies, St ., Economic, REUTERS, U.S, Nasdaq, European Union, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Ukraine –, Israel, Yandex

Under its budget rule, Russia sells foreign currency from its National Wealth Fund (NWF) to make up for any shortfall in revenue from oil and gas exports, or makes purchases in the event of a surplus. The central bank restarted its own separate interventions this month, selling 2.3 billion roubles' worth of foreign currency a day, something it said it would continue to do. The bank's decision means that from Thursday, daily FX sales will total 2.3 billion roubles, as opposed to net sales of 0.5 billion roubles envisaged previously. The bank said it may defer purchases within the budget rule framework to 2024. "We may see new measures to stabilise the situation on the FX market," the analysts said.

Persons: Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Darya Korsunskaya, Kevin Liffey, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: of Russia, National Wealth Fund, Bank of, FX, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, London

A view shows Russian rouble coins in this illustration picture taken March 25, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/IllustrationAug 9 (Reuters) - The rouble hit a more than 16-month low on Wednesday, hampered by strong foreign currency demand and limited supply, with Russia's shrinking trade surplus and widening budget deficit also hurting sentiment. By 1023 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker against the dollar at 97.32 , earlier hitting 97.48, its weakest point since March 25, 2022. It has been under pressure all year from Russia's shrinking balance of trade, as export revenues fall and imports rebound, dropping around 28% year-to-date from levels near 70 to the dollar. Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was 0.7% higher at $86.80 a barrel.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Egor Zhilnikov, Alexey Antonov, Antonov, Alexander Marrow, Andrew Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Alor Broker, Brent, Thomson Locations: Alor

In a July update of its credit opinion on the sovereign rating, Moody's maintained its Aaa rating and stable outlook, which means likelihood of a new rating over the medium term is low. Moody's did not offer comment beyond referring Reuters to its latest credit opinion, which it said reflected its latest thinking on the U.S. sovereign credit profile. In Moody's view, these factors counterbalance "lower fiscal strength," which the agency expects will weaken. In its latest credit opinion, Moody's said it had confidence in the strength of U.S. institutions, adding that monetary and macroeconomic policies have "a long history of effectiveness." It said, however, that other aspects of policymaking are "less robust than in many Aaa-rated peers," particularly when it comes to fiscal policy effectiveness.

Persons: Fitch, Lawrence Gillum, Ryan Detrick, Moody’s, it’s, Moody's, Davide Barbuscia, Megan Davies, Diane Craft Organizations: Moody's Corporation, AAA, U.S, OECD, LPL, Carson Group, Aaa, Reuters, TRIPLE, U.S ., Treasuries, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, United States, Australia, Canada, Fitch

"I said that this should be absolutely excluded and all officials of the country should drive domestic cars," Putin said, telling officials they should strive to develop domestic brands, domestic cars, and other domestic products. Chinese carmakers are seizing market share in Russia, capitalising on the departure of Western players, auto industry data shows. Russia's Lada holds the number one spot in the domestic market, with its share for January-June at 32.6%, up from 21.6% last year. Lada's share slipped slightly in July year on year, as Chinese carmakers' sales continued rising rapidly, the data showed. Chinese brands, such as Haval (601633.SS), Chery and Geely (0175.HK), accounted for the next six spots in terms of market share in July.

Persons: VAZ, Alexey Malgavko, Vladimir Putin, PPK, Putin, capitalising, Russia's Lada, Lada's, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Mark Potter Organizations: Lada, REUTERS, Mercedes, Benz, Renault, Nissan, Reuters, Chery, Geely, HK, Thomson Locations: Soviet, Izhevsk, Russia, Ukraine, Crimean, Kyiv, Moscow, Crimea

July 31 (Reuters) - Economic sanctions have been the biggest headache for Russia's business elite since the start of the war in Ukraine, but a drone strike in the heart of Moscow's financial district is forcing companies to think about their employees' safety. Tech giant Yandex (YNDX.O), which has offices dotted around the Russian capital including in Moskva-Citi, asked staff to vacate offices at night, when strikes on the Russian capital have tended to occur. One financial services professional said he did not think the attack would deter people from going to Moskva-Citi. A Telegram channel run by the Russian online media group Mash broadcast photos of the damage done to the digital ministry's headquarters. For one employee at a large Russian company, the attack was a "really scary" warning.

Persons: Nobody, Yandex, Dmitry Peskov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Gareth Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: Sunday, Citi, Kremlin, Tech, Reuters, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Moskva, Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Russian

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