Russian shares drop on lower oil prices

[ben_meyers]

Source: Yahoo business

Russian shares drop on lower oil prices, MICEX exchange closed till Thursday


MOSCOW (AP) -- Russian stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, prompting regulators to suspend trading at one exchange until Thursday as the benchmark indexes shed more than 12 percent on the back of tumbling commodity prices.(snip)

Russia's stocks have taken a battering as oil prices, the backbone of the economy, have plunged from summer highs of $147 per barrel to around $60 per barrel currently.

Russia's budget for this year was balanced on assumptions of oil prices at $70 a barrel, and next year's is budgeted for $95 a barrel. Officials have repeatedly said, however, that the 2009 budget will be safe even if oil averages $60.



Read more: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081111/eu_russia_markets.html?.v=8

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Time to sell Chavez some more of those submarines Dmitry.

[DJ13]

1. This is why I never worried about Russia or Mid East sponsored terrorists

They're big vulnerability is an over reliance on oil profits to pay for their aggressive actions.

If Bush had been serious about his "war on terrorism" he would have actively worked to remove speculators from the commodity exchanges to prevent oil from spiking, fueling further terrorism (and Russian increases in military spending).

[ShockediSay]

2. I think we should offer them a hand, instead of letting them founder

like we did when they collapsed.

Quid pro quo would be necessary, yet a fair trade-off could move them into the {small} camp of our serious allies

[unkachuck]

3. not to worry....

....Russia is more than oil....

http://www.russianamericanchamber.org/newsletter/Natural_Storehouse.html