The decline in world prices for non-ferrous metals continues. Quotes of aluminum, copper and nickel have reached their lowest levels over the past two years. The market decline is caused by a slowdown in global economic growth. Market participants expect the situation to improve only next year. The level of metal consumption directly depends on the state of the global economy.

New peace initiatives from Chisinau were met with hostility from Tiraspol Today in Tiraspol there will be another round of negotiations between the President of Moldova Vladimir Voronin and the leader of Transnistria Igor Smirnov, which many called a failure before the start. The dialogue between Chisinau and Tiraspol began in 1992, shortly after the armed conflict on the Dniester was stopped.

The provinces hold grain in their fists Russia's economic space again does not look very unified. The heads of grain regions, trying to collect debts from “their” farms, began to prohibit the export of grain from the territories entrusted to them. There is no vital need for this - a very good harvest is expected this year.

The incomes of low-income Russians will take into account not only the money they earn, but also part of the property they have. Based on this, local social protection authorities will decide which families to issue benefits and in what volume. This procedure for providing social assistance is provided for in the new law, the draft of which the government sent to the Duma yesterday.

Latest changes in major league clubs Yesterday the re-entry campaign in the Russian football championship officially ended. Now, until the end of the season, clubs will make do with the services of those players who were announced until yesterday evening. Usually, most teams look forward to the so-called St. George's Day with special impatience, hoping to miraculously change their tournament fate by attracting new masters.

The owner and director of the enterprise lost both his chair and shares The Kemerovo plant TOKEM, a large manufacturer of plastic products, ion exchange and phenol-formaldehyde resins, unexpectedly quickly emerged from bankruptcy. Just three months after the introduction of external management, a settlement agreement was concluded with creditors.

Episode II gets a name "Star Wars: Episode II. Attack of the Clones" (Star Wars : Episode II. Attack of the Clones) is the title of the fifth film in the fantastic saga, which is perhaps the most successful film project of all time. The title for the second episode was announced Monday on the official Star Wars website www.starwars.com.

One hundred years ago Nina Berberova was born Nina Berberova took an irreplaceable place in the history of Russian literature early and unexpectedly. On June 22, 1922, she and Vladislav Khodasevich left Bolshevik Russia. Two months earlier, Khodasevich told her that “he has two tasks: to be together and to survive.” The twenty-year-old girl understood and believed.

The American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has registered the issue of Level 1 American Depositary Receipts (ADR) of United Machine-Building Plants (OMZ). Owners of OMZ shares will now have the opportunity to convert them into ADR. Conversion of OMZ shares into Level 1 ADR -- This is the second stage of the company's program to enter the international stock market. Back in 1998, OMZ began a program for issuing ADRs.

Advertising campaign with shooting in the Astrakhan region In preparation for the 2002 budget, the Air Force held a demonstration of new aircraft, unprecedented in post-Soviet Russia. Yesterday, at the training ground near Akhtubinsk (Astrakhan region), Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and Presidential Envoy for the Southern Federal District Viktor Kazantsev observed the day and night bombings.

A specialized bank for servicing agriculture (RSHB), created last year, ended the year with a profit of 3.424 million rubles, the bank said in a statement. As of January 1, 2001, the authorized capital of RSHB was equal to 375 million rubles. In 2001, the capital will be increased to 2 billion 805 million rubles. Until the end of last year, the Central Bank registered 24 bank branches, of which 14 started operating. "TIME FOR NEWS"

The VI European Olympic Youth Days in Spain ended with the victory of the Russian team. Our team confidently took first place in the overall standings, winning 19 gold, 15 silver and five bronze medals. More than 2.5 thousand young athletes took part in these competitions, which were held in the small town of Murcia. For its residents, these days became a real event. It is more profitable to hold such “unpromoted” events in such towns, which are not spoiled by all kinds of spectacles.

In order not to scare Russia, NATO is ready to expand westward The St. Petersburg meeting of the Russian and German defense ministers Sergei Ivanov and Rudolf Scharping did not imply the conclusion of any specific agreements. However, it was precisely thanks to their “unofficial format” that the inherently boring routine consultations of the two military ministers resulted in an extremely interesting exchange of views on the most painful issues for both sides.

Today, the sphere of influence of the General Director of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) Andrei Kozitsyn includes more than 20 industrial enterprises in five regions of Russia and Lithuania. As a manager, Kozitsyn controls 38% of the Russian copper market and intends to further expand his business.

Baltika, which is the largest brewing company in Russia and Eastern Europe, can act as a consultant in the organization of the Korean brewing industry. This wish was expressed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during a visit to the plant. "The company controls 20% of the beer market in the country - that's an impressive figure," he said. The Korean leader noted that the DPRK government plans to build brewing plants; for this purpose, equipment will be purchased in England.