Putin's agreement to become prime minister "as if from United Russia" makes our political system similar to the one-and-a-half-party analogs that successfully existed in countries such as Japan, Mexico and Italy. A one-and-a-half-party system is usually called one in which one mass party dominates, including several competing factions. Russia is on the path of creating a one-and-a-half party system – this is the diagnosis of many political scientists.

Smart Money The situation with available funds is now fundamentally different, noted Yaroslav Lissovolik, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank in Russia. Banks have more available funds due to the increase in budget expenditures, which has been felt since December, and the capital inflow that recovered in the fourth quarter. It continues in the current year, which is noticeable by the slight strengthening of the ruble against the bi-currency basket (0.2%), explains Lissovolik.

GC "Optifood" GC "Optifood" poultry producer and processor. Co-owners are Russian Agro-Industrial Corporation and Optifood Holding Company LLC. The group includes the Nadezhda (Belaya Kalitva), Starostanichnaya (Kamensky District), Zadonskaya (Semikarakorsky District) poultry farms and the Belokalitvensky Meat Processing Plant. In 2007, broiler meat production amounted to 24,000 tons (own data).

In the next two months, the growth of gas company shares will continue, Bokhin is sure. Alfa Bank analysts believe that investing in Gazprom shares is the optimal strategy for investing in the Russian oil and gas sector. Gazprom will receive a disproportionately large gain from the growth of world oil prices and sharp increases in domestic gas prices, the bank said in its review yesterday.

The investment fund Prosperity Voskhod Fund, managed by Prosperity Capital Management, bought 1% of Kuzbassrazrezugol shares in December, according to the fund's materials. Based on the capitalization of Kuzbassrazrezugol on the RTS Board, this package is worth slightly more than $35 million. At the same time, another fund, Vostok Nafta, also increased its stake in the coal company.

"DAILY" MOSCOW CHAIN ​​OF DEPARTMENT STORE. Established in 2005 by businessman Lev Khasis, who currently holds the post of CEO of X5 Retail Group. In January 2007, Khasis sold control of "Daily" to businessman Oleg Orlovsky, a US citizen. The chain has 31 stores in Moscow and the Moscow region, all of its premises are rented.

Membership in BDO will allow Rostov residents, in particular, to provide services to companies planning to enter the international capital market and conduct audits according to international standards, says Khailo. The Rostov company's turnover in 2008 may increase by 30-50%, including due to servicing the Rostov divisions of major BDO clients, such as Yuzhtruboprovodstroy, Rostovneftegazstroy, Ust-Donetsk Port and L'Etoile.

Based on the results of 2007. The airline carried 680,000 passengers to eight destinations. The company's turnover for 12 months was about $70 million. The airline's fleet includes nine Boeing-737 aircraft. Vedomosti obtained a report on the safety inspection of Sky Express flights conducted from November 29 to December 6. The authenticity of the report was confirmed by Sky Express CEO Marina Bukalova and a representative of the Ministry of Transport Timur Khikmatov.

Reuters, R. Schiller George Soros investor He entered the investment business in the 1960s and heads Soros Fund Management. He is considered the first American to earn $1 billion in a year: in September 1992, he played against the pound sterling, bringing its rate down from $1.92 to $1.5. Philanthropist, founder of charitable foundations, including the Open Society. Author of the books The Alchemy of Finance, Discovering the Soviet System, The Crisis of World Capitalism, etc.

Volkswagen CC – a real discovery of Detroit / A. Gubsky The USA is one of the main markets for Volkswagen Group, so the entire management came to Detroit, including the chairman of the supervisory board Ferdinand Piech. He sat in the front row, did not go on stage and calmly talked to a colleague, not paying attention to the flashbulbs. And the Volkswagen Passat CC appeared on the scene – a “four-door coupe”, the fashion for which was set by Mercedes-Benz.

The new year brought sad news to the American economy. Unemployment rose to 5% in December. This is 0.6 percentage points more than in March, when the unemployment rate was the lowest since late 2001. “Not since 1949 has there been such a significant increase in unemployment not accompanied by a recession (there were 10 recessions during this period),” writes John Riding, chief US economist at Bear Stearns, in a report.

An unprecedented case – the comedy “The Bucket List” moved straight from 23rd place to 1st. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two terminally ill old men who decide to escape from the hospital and fulfill their cherished dreams one last time. The film was released on Christmas, but it was shown in only 16 theaters. Now the studio, guided by public reviews and the film’s ratings, decided to expand the distribution to 2911 theaters, which brought in $19.54 million.

Bill Zollars, CEO of international freight company YRC Worldwide, noticed some alarming numbers last July. The volume of freight YRC handled for thousands of retail and manufacturing companies was declining after a long period of growth. Soon, the CEO noticed a decline in the number of freight shipments, too. Both numbers continued to decline in the weeks that followed. “These were clear signs of a downturn, and we started tracking those numbers daily,” Zollars says.

What awaits prices? In January, consumer prices in Russia will grow by 1.8%, the Ministry of Economic Development predicts. The official forecast for 2008 is 7.5–8.5%. Inflation at the end of 2007 was 11.9%. Interfax The monetary base increased in 2007. This is 7.8% more than in 2006, according to the results of which the monetary base in Russia amounted to 4.122 trillion rubles. In December, it grew by 18.5% (to 5.513 trillion), the Central Bank reported. Central Bank of the Russian Federation

Accounting Vladimir Putin transferred federal real estate located abroad to the management of the Ministry of Economic Development. Together with the Presidential Property Management Department, it will prepare a list of real estate. Results Belarus's GDP grew by 8.1% in 2007, the country's statistics ministry reported. Inflation was 12.1% versus the forecast 8%. Non-travelers Citizens who have not complied with the court decision will not receive a foreign passport.