Russia 100325 Basic Political Developments
Russia Today: New species of early human found in Siberia
Download 338.47 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- National Economic Trends
- Prime-Tass: World Bank ups Russian 2010 GDP growth forecast to 5%–5.5%
Russia Today: New species of early human found in Siberiahttp://rt.com/Top_News/2010-03-25/new-species-early-human.html/print 25 March, 2010, 10:45 DNA from a 40-thousand-year-old bone found in a Siberian cave is believed to belong to a previously unknown hominin. The “Hominin-X” joins Neanderthals as a now-extinct evolutionary competitor of modern human. The fossil finger bone was discovered in 2008 by a team of archaeologists led by Mikhail Shunkov and Anatoly Derevyanko of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk. It was found in the Denisova cave in the Altai Mountains in a layer radiocarbon dated to between 48,000 and 30,000 years ago. Geneticists Svante Pääbo, Johannes Krause and their colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, sampled the fossil and sequenced DNA from mitochondria. The same team previously sequenced both Neanderthal and prehistoric modern human DNA. To their big surprise, DNA found in the Siberian bone did not resemble either, and differed from the genome of the modern human in almost twice as many nucleotide positions as the Neanderthal genome. The scientists believe that the Denisova hominin shares a common ancestor with Homo Sapiens sometime about 1 million years ago. The lineage of our newly-discovered relative has so far been difficult to trace, and the team is not even giving it a name as yet, calling it Hominin X. They hope to find more clues about its origin after sequencing nuclear DNA from the bone. The discovery of the new hominin is also interesting because it is the first find based solely on genome analysis and not on reconstruction from fossils. National Economic Trends2010-03-25 08:29 Reuters: Russia rouble sets new peak vs euro, steady vs dlr http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7810428&action=article MOSCOW, March 25 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble set fresh 15-month peaks versus a downtrodden euro on Thursday, but lower oil prices and expectations of a domestic interest rate cut in coming days kept it on the back foot against the dollar. The rouble firmed as far as 39.52 per euro as investors remained sceptical about whether the EU will agree on a quick rescue plan for heavily indebted Greece. That increases the appeal of Russia, which now has very low sovereign debt and the world's third biggest gold and FX reserves of some $440 billion. But a retreat in prices for key export oil on concerns about demand kept the rouble broadly steady at 29.65 per dollar, off last week's 3-1/2 month peak of 29.14. "We expect a weaker rouble today under the influence of the oil price (and) the dollar's performance on the global market," analysts at Otkrytie said in a research note. Against a euro-dollar basket, which the central bank uses to guide monetary policy, the rouble traded slightly firmer at 34.10, having retreated this week from a March 19 peak of 33.93 -- its strongest level since late 2008. "There is uncertainty, a desire to digest the signals," said a dealer at a major Russian bank. Investors are looking to oil prices for fresh momentum on the currency and some are also reluctant to chase the rouble higher ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut. The central bank is seen cutting the benchmark refinancing rate -- currently at 8.50 percent -- by 25-50 basis points by the end of the month, possibly on Friday. Although such a move will still leave Russia with an attractive yield premium compared to rates of 1 percent or less in many Western economies, any rate cut could prompt a knee-jerk sell-off in the rouble as the market searches for new direction. The rouble's rapid appreciation since mid-February prompted the central bank to shift its floating trading band 22 times -- by 5 kopecks after every $700 million of purchases at the boundary. Currently, the floating corridor is at 33.90-36.90, dealers say. (Reporting by Olga Borodina and Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Lidia Kelly/Ruth Pitchford) Keywords: RUSSIA ROUBLE/ (antonina.vorobyova@reuters.com; Tel: +7495 7751242, Reuters Messaging: antonina.vorobyova.reuters.com@reuters.net) RenCap: Weekly inflation and money supply dynamics; more arguments for further monetary loosening http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text11397 Renaissance Capital, Russia Thursday, March 25, 2010 Yesterday (24 Mar) Rosstat reported that during 16-22 Mar consumer prices rose 0.1%, implying that inflation has been in the range of 0.1-0.3% since early February. The current rate of YtD inflation is 3.1%, below 4.9% for the same period a year ago. Running annual inflation is still at 7.0% YoY. With only one and a half weeks until the end of March, we expect that the final monthly figure is likely to settle at 0.8% (above the Ministry of Economic Development's announced forecast of 0.7% MoM) even as prices for some seasonal goods have started to decelerate (in particular, vegetables). Therefore, we think the running annual inflation should be at 6.8% in early April. We see an inflationary risk in the upcoming gas tariff indexation for households, which is a rather significant - for 15% all at once, scheduled for April - but we view this as a one-off event. Another risk is for food inflation: the government is planning a further 6.3% indexation of pensions next month. On the other hand, the pace of food inflation in world markets has stabilised recently; hence, the inflation seen in food imports has been curbed. As such, in the current domestic environment we expect a further slowdown in core CPI on a YoY basis, which continues to be favourable for a cut of key Central Bank of Russia (CBR) rates. Money supply dynamics in February should be another argument in support of the CBR cutting rates. Yesterday, the CBR reported that the M2 aggregate rose 1.5% MoM and was up 29.5% YoY due to a low base effect. However, in nominal terms it rose by RUB230bn, almost matching the amount of CBR interventions in the forex market in February (net purchases were $6.8bn and EUR0.3bn). With the CBR continuing to repay liabilities and purchase OBRs in February, monetary emissions by the federal budget (even without using the Reserve Fund) were sterilised via those actions with neutral effects on the money supply. Therefore, we expect that the current dynamics of the money supply have not yet materialised in the risks for inflation. We think the CBR is likely to cut rates by 25 bpts by the end of March. VTB Capital: Weekly CPI moderates at the end of March - we expect the CBR to cut 25bp, possibly this Friday - but we see monetary easing to be over soon http://www.businessneweurope.eu/dispatch_text11397 VTB Capital, Russia March 25, 2010 News: Prices rose 0.1% WoW in the week ending 22 March, easing from 0.2% WoW in the preceding week and bringing YTD inflation to 3.1% (compared with 4.9% over same period in 2009). Inflation has reached 0.5% since the start of the month, compared with the 0.8% recorded over the same period in 2009. Prices on vegetables rose 0.8% WoW and prices on eggs were up 3.3% WoW, while prices on sugar and rice declined 1.0% and 0.3% WoW, respectively. Our View: Earlier this week, Deputy Minister for the Economy Andrey Klepach said that the Ministry expected MoM inflation to be 0.6-0.8% in March (suggesting a likely decline in the YoY rate to 6.8% in March from 7.2% in February). The weekly numbers support the Ministry's estimate, although last year the end of March saw a hike in inflation that pushed the MoM rate to 1.3%. Still, falling inflation allows the CBR to continue lowering interest rates (we expect 25bp at the next meeting, possibly this Friday). At the same time, we continue to think that the CBR might stop its monetary easing cycle soon (see our Enjoying the Tailwind, of 18 March) as inflation might accelerate towards 2011. A bond market rally invites speculative capital inflows and expectations of further rate cuts probably deter corporate demand for bank loans. Prime-Tass: World Bank ups Russian 2010 GDP growth forecast to 5%–5.5%http://www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=68&id=475480 MOSCOW, Mar 24 (PRIME-TASS) -- The World Bank has revised its forecast for Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2010 to 5%–5.5% from 3.2% projected earlier, the bank said in a report Wednesday. In 2011, Russia’s GDP is projected to rise 3.5%, the bank added. According to the bank’s estimates, the deficit of Russia’s consolidated budget is projected at 3% of GDP in 2010, while no deficit is expected in 2011. Russia’s consumer price inflation is expected at 7% in 2010, the bank also said. The Russian Economic Development Ministry’s current forecast for GDP growth in 2010 amounts to 3%–3.5%. However, the ministry may raise its forecast, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach said on Monday, adding that the new forecast for GDP growth in 2010 could amount to 4%–4.5%. The government’s official forecast for Russia’s 2010 inflation amounts to 6.5%–7.5%. In 2009, Russia’s GDP fell 7.9% on the year, while inflation was at 8.8%. End 24.03.2010 14:59 Directory: gifiles -> attach attach -> British Forces – Akrioti, Greece Griffin Fighter Squadron (84 Squadron raf) MoD announced possible Typhoon and Tornado arrivals to the base France attach -> Russia 110204 Basic Political Developments attach -> Unclassified//for official use only attach -> Adaptability Sustainment attach -> Pop-up 1 ("C" Chechnya) Header Text: Emir of the Caucasus Emirate Doku Umarov Image attach -> Russia and Islam are not Separate attach -> Chapter 13: The Northern Caucasus attach -> Russia 100209 Basic Political Developments attach -> The evolution attach -> The devolution Download 338.47 Kb. Share with your friends:
|