The official Russian economy has an inadequate self-esteem. It counts itself among the "third-rate" economies. Like people who were humiliated by their elders in childhood, it thinks of itself as much worse than it really is. This seriously hinders success: the poor are not given money either inside or outside the country.

British BP and Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto have announced their exit from the Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) joint venture, the operator of Indonesia's largest coal project. The companies will sell their 100% stake in the Indonesian joint venture, which they own on a 50/50 basis, to local Bumi Resources for $500 million, including debt repayment. Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) is the operator of Indonesia's largest coal deposit in West Kalimantan province.

The Central Bank's path to exiting the capital of Russian foreign banks resembles an attempt to reach the horizon: no matter how far you go, it is still just as far away. Yesterday, the National Banking Council considered the issue of the Central Bank's exit from the capital of five foreign subsidiaries. The outcome of the meeting, the materials for which were marked as DSP, was the postponement of consideration of this issue until autumn.

One of the oldest and most respectable supermarkets in Moscow, Eldorado on Bolshaya Polyanka, has ceased to exist. The owner of the supermarket, Vyacheslav Semenduev, decided to repurpose it into a boutique selling clothes. Former competitors believe that Eldorado has left a very promising market. The Eldorado store (sales area - about 400 sq. m) is one of the first Western-style supermarkets in Moscow, opened in 1994. The shopping and restaurant complex belongs to Eldorado Trade Limited LLC.

People who think economically usually have no shortage of negative opinions about government policy. There are far fewer positive ideas. Yevgeny Yasin, the academic director of the Higher School of Economics, recently came up with the idea of ​​a "structural maneuver" - a long-term policy designed to correct the imbalances of the Russian economy and make future growth sustainable. Today's text opens a series of three articles that will be published on Wednesdays.

The RTS index rose by 1.94% to 449.76, with trading volume on the classic market at $23 million. In the morning, the market continued to cautiously correct upwards after the precipitous fall in quotes last week, says OLMA analyst Elena Novikova, trading volumes are low, with domestic investors demonstrating the main demand. In her opinion, ordinary shares of RAO UES (+3.8% on the RTS) grew due to renewed strategic purchases, and Mosenergo quotes are also growing (+3.8% on the RTS).

Growing demand for IP-telephony cards - cheap long-distance and international communication - has interested cellular dealers. Recently, the largest cellular dealer "Euroset" began selling this service under its own brand, using the resources of the alternative communications operator "Combellga". Somewhat earlier, another cellular dealer - "Anarion" entered the market with its own IP-cards.

Three major players in the soft drink market - Wimm-Bill-Dann, PepsiCola and Lebedyansky - have begun selling packaged iced tea (ice tea) in our country. The taste of this drink is familiar to less than 1% of our compatriots, but the companies expect that the product, which has demonstrated excellent sales figures in Europe, will also find enough buyers among Russians. The ice tea market in Europe is one of the most dynamic.

Today, the Moscow City Court will consider the cassation appeal of Platon Lebedev's lawyers against the Basmanny Court's decision to keep him in custody. The day before, Vedomosti found out what exactly investigators suspect Platon Lebedev, co-owner and CEO of the MENATEP group, of.

Industrial exporters have a small holiday. Yesterday, the government approved the provision of state guarantees for political risks in the supply of products abroad and subsidies from the budget for interest rates on export loans. However, bankers regret the modesty of the compensation amounts. After the government meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Boris Aleshin announced that it had been decided to include $500 million in the budget for next year for guarantees for exporters.

The telecoms crisis is ending, and many European telecoms operators are emerging from it faster than their American counterparts. The European telecoms segment is expected to generate tens of billions of dollars in profits this year, and market participants are seriously concerned about where the money will be spent. Corporate management and shareholders are sharply divided on the issue.

In the run-up to the presidential elections in Bashkiria, a quiet privatization of the local oil industry took place. As auditors from the Accounts Chamber found out, controlling stakes in Bashneft and five other Bashkir petrochemical enterprises with a total turnover of more than $1.5 billion per year came under the control of little-known private firms. The auditors accused the Bashkortostan authorities of embezzling state property and threatened to contact the Prosecutor General's Office.

American AES Corp. is considering the possibility of selling its Georgian assets, and Georgian authorities are not happy about this: officials do not want RAO UES of Russia to manage the republic's energy. However, according to a source familiar with the corporation's plans for Georgia, it is not only the Russian energy holding that is laying claim to it, but also the well-known Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili. American AES Corp.

NEW YORK - Germany's Beiersdorf believes it has cracked the secret to successful marketing. Having come to the conclusion that "less is more," the cosmetics company has decided that from now on it will focus its efforts only on its leading brands. Beiersdorf is not alone. Unilever has been selling off its least successful brands for the past three years. Not long ago, the company's portfolio numbered 1,600 items.

Russia's GDP growth in June was 7.3%. This was stated in a report published yesterday by the Ministry of Economic Development. In the first half of the year, GDP grew by 7.2%, while in the first half of last year it grew by only 4.5%. The volume of industrial production in Russia in the first half of 2003 exceeded the figure for January-June 2002 by 6.8%, while agricultural production fell by 0.3%. Investments in fixed capital grew by 11.9%.