Russian Economy General News: #8

Transition from patching holes to development
Head of the CSR Alexei Kudrin on the meaning of budget maneuver

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/3612808?from=four_economic

https://twitter.com/PhysGoldFund/status/988100657172267008

Physical Gold Fund
‏ @PhysGoldFund

Gold is one of the most liquid assets on earth, and trades more daily volume in USD than all of the stocks of the S&P 500 combined

The yield of 10-year US government bonds exceeded 3% for the first time in four years

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-it-means-for-the-market-that-the-us-10-year-yields-3-2018-04-24

Speaking of Goldman Sachs... to find out what a piece of shit bunch of assholes they are watch this video from about the 22 minute mark...

https://www.rt.com/shows/redacted-tonight-summary/424647-western-media-syria-bombing/

If you can't be bothered, or it does not work it is basically Lee Camp talking about a Goldman Sachs report that asks if curing patients a sustainable business model... you see if you cure the patient with gene therapy research then you miss out on charging them money for years of chronic illnesses.... good for the patient and society but bad for the bottom line cashflow for the companies treating the patients.

Further it gets even worse... in the case of infectious diseases, curing people means not only missing out on treating them for years and years for the symptoms, but also stopping them from infecting other people and creating new customers for our treatments...

The 10 trillion or what ever be the expenditure , the key to make sure it is success is to ensure the process of open tender and not let Putin close associate or Oligarch take major share of 10 trillion rouble.

If they need to build road or any infra project let it be done under open tender for every one to see and not be a give away via closed tended process

Who cares whether the tender is open or closed... what difference does that make?

What is more important is that there are checks and balances so that when any company is paid x amount of dollars to do something that it is done to specs and done on time.

It is also important that it is all done by Russian companies using Russian materials and not imported materials or foreign firms.

Believe me, I feel your pain. The worst thing about these sales taxes is that they are applied to every resale. So the
grubbermint gets 15% of the price of a new car and 15% of the price every time it is resold. This is absurd. The initial
tax should be the final tax. And 15% is 100% too high. All VATs should be at most 7.5%.

So basically they take 30% of my wages in income, and then whatever I buy or spend money on they take a further 15%... and given a chance they will increase it some more... the tax on cigarettes is horrendous, and the tax on alcohol is high too... not that I care much about either... but the focus is more ways to collect money from the people and not about being responsible for spending it.

In spite of all the hate propaganda aimed at Putin and Russia, offloading taxes onto oil and gas sales is brilliant.

But the government of a country controlling minerals and oil and gas from the country is communism... according to the west.

The land owner does not automatically have rights to minerals or oil or gas under their property... that is something we can sell to the highest bidder and they can come and take it...

A government controlled medical system would try to cure patients because a working patient earns more money and pays more tax into the system. A privately controlled medical system wont cure, they will just treat the symptoms because they make more money that way.

But a 13% flat tax for individuals is as absurd as the same tax for corporations. A better formula is needed and then
written into the constitution to prevent the moving goal posts problem you see in the west.

I disagree... if you can't pay for everything based on 13% of the income of all individuals and companies in your country then you need to take a good hard look at what you are doing.

Medvedev considers it important to prevent "economic imbalances"

https://ria.ru/economy/20180427/1519566405.html

MOSCOW, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - RIA Novosti. External forces piled on Russia, the main thing is to prevent the imbalance of the economy, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"When the various external forces are piling on the country in this way, when the very structure of the economy is not ideal in the state, the most important thing is to prevent the economy from becoming unbalanced, normal economic life," Medvedev said on the Rossiya TV channel.

"If we take the most important overall indicator, like the growth of the gross domestic product, over the last six years, the total growth of the country's gross domestic product amounted to 5%, which is not bad, given that in a certain period it fell by minus 3%. , I recall, for example, in the period of 2008 and 2009, our economy fell through to 8 or even more percent, "the prime minister added.

РИА Новости https://ria.ru/economy/20180427/1519566405.html

Austin wrote:Medvedev considers it important to prevent "economic imbalances"

https://ria.ru/economy/20180427/1519566405.html

MOSCOW, April 27 (Itar-Tass) - RIA Novosti. External forces piled on Russia, the main thing is to prevent the imbalance of the economy, said Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

"When the various external forces are piling on the country in this way, when the very structure of the economy is not ideal in the state, the most important thing is to prevent the economy from becoming unbalanced, normal economic life," Medvedev said on the Rossiya TV channel.

"If we take the most important overall indicator, like the growth of the gross domestic product, over the last six years, the total growth of the country's gross domestic product amounted to 5%, which is not bad, given that in a certain period it fell by minus 3%. , I recall, for example, in the period of 2008 and 2009, our economy fell through to 8 or even more percent, "the prime minister added.

РИА Новости https://ria.ru/economy/20180427/1519566405.html

5% GDP growth over 6 years "not bad"?  Will somebody filially take that brain-damaged bear behind the shed and put ti out of his missilery.

Take into account that there was -3% in combined for two years.

So don't act dumb.

In other news, as I predicted, Rusal Oligarch agreed to step down as not only board of directors, but also sell part of his shares off.

I knew he was going to give in. It's rather simple - he wants wealth, not caring about patriotism. So in order to obtain wealth, is to allow it back on the export market because Russia really fucking sucks at the game of self reliance and domestic consumption needs.

Not surprised really, since Russian government agreed not to bail out company.

i said it before and will said it again...
If Putin just stopped wasting money in Sports/Olympic bullshit , then Russia will not have
to cut money from its military spending which is so important in times of cold war , moving
towards a hot war at the speed of light. Who though it will be a good idea ,to host FIFA 2018 ,
in the middle of a near hot war with NATO and Russia military bases already attacked by proxy
by NATO backed rebels.. and Russia being threatened all the time its soldiers with NATO and Israel
missiles attacks?

50$ billions in Sochi and 12$ billions in fifa.. this is $62 billions dollars.. in olympic shit.
Against this is insanity.. an insane amount of money wasted in times US is pushing Russia into a
major war..

Russia is wasting its time trying to influence the west , with stupid olympics.. the west will not
be happy until see Russians blood running and Russia destroyed and disbanded in many parts.
So now Putin is reducing the military budget of Russia in times a war with US seems impossible
to avoid.

Who ever advice Putin on how to Run Russia , needs to be shot in the head.
And the Privatization of Russia energy business had to be done decades ago..not now.
it was right to take control of Russia energy business away from traitors.. but not to hold it for too long..
Russia should have re-sold back Gasprom and Rosnet to Europe ,to Germany and others ,with guarantees that they will not sell it back to anyone else.. or that Russia will take it. and live happy with a high tax for every energy extracted from Russia.  This is about making Russia sanction proof.. while at the same time making money and turning Russia Energy business a monopoly in Europe and all Asia.. and if a world war 3 start.. russia can nationalize it all back again in one day.  So not a problem..   So this means that Russia will still hold the last word on who controls its energy on its own country. if US start a war with Russia.. then Russia will have no reason to pay its debts to the west.. and no reason to follow any western international laws.. and so can take back all its energy.   This means that Europe will have plenty of powerful reasons to STOP Americans at any cost from provoking  a war with Russia.. so they don't lose control over Russia energy fields of Natural gas and oil.  Before any transaction however. Russia will have to be sure it have plenty of reserves to fight a war for several years.. So privatization of Russia energy business ,is a good thing.. if done right.. and sold to nations Russia knows have acceptable relations and they have no obsession with the destruction of Russia ,but the opposite ,that thinks  Russia have a place to play in the world..

and the money Russia spend in sport slashed to ZERO.. privatize sports too... and use the money instead for
Strenghtening Russia military and for militarization of space and advancing Russia space program.. totally leading in Space. and really have not many hopes with Putin anymore.. Putins rating will sink to ZERO .the moment Russia
Economy is broken and NATO continues opening fronts against Russia , proxy wars in more places ,forcing Russia to come to their rescue as they did in Syria and losing Russia soldiers in the attempt . If Russia Gasprom and Rosnet was in control of Europe.. then all this Pipeline wars in middle east by NATO will not be happening.. Because Germany and Europe will not attack its own energy companies if Gasprom was under their control..and Americans neither will attack it.. since it will damage its allies.. the war in Syria pipeline alternative wars ,seeking to bypass Gasprom will neither be happening, because Russia energy business will be private and in control of Europe.

I knew he was going to give in. It's rather simple - he wants wealth, not caring about patriotism. So in order to obtain wealth, is to allow it back on the export market because Russia really fucking sucks at the game of self reliance and domestic consumption needs.

Not surprised really, since Russian government agreed not to bail out company.

They would not bail out the company... what they should do is buy up that guys shares.... ahahahaahaha... nice bit of nationalisation.... thanks to Trump.

In Sovfed told how much money was withdrawn from Russia for 17 years

MOSCOW, April 28 (Itar-Tass) - RIA Novosti. More than 430 billion US dollars, according to independent estimates, illegally withdrew from Russia for the period from 2000 to 2017, told RIA Novosti chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Bondarev.

"According to independent estimates, about 430.7 billion dollars were exported from our country from 2000 to 2017. These are huge financial resources that could be invested in the development of the domestic economy," the senator said.

According to him, the illegal withdrawal of capital from Russia is one of the key problems, the resolution of which will significantly affect the implementation of breakthrough opportunities in various sectors of the economy.

Bondarev said that to improve the current legislation and law enforcement practices in the field of countering economic crimes, the Committee on Defense and Security of the Council of Federation proposes a number of measures. They include the formation of "new legal and organizational mechanisms aimed at the timely detection and suppression of alleged, pretentious transactions in the field of foreign economic activity, the identification and suppression of the activities of organizations created for the purpose of evading taxes, illegal removal of material assets from Russia."

The committee also proposes to improve the system of organizational and information interaction of law enforcement and supervisory bodies, as well as to reform the system of banking supervision "in the field of fixing and storing meaningful information about the activities of credit institutions."

РИА Новости https://ria.ru/economy/20180427/1519591387.html

Since putin was the President and PM all this while what did he do to stop the flow of money outside the country ?

More than 430 billion dollars were illegally exported from Russia in 17 years

https://rg.ru/2018/04/28/bolee-430-mlrd-dollarov-nezakonno-vyvezli-iz-rossii-za-17-let.html

How much of that came back though in recent years?

Anyway, it's good they are talking about it. Better late than never.

miketheterrible wrote:
So don't act dumb.

I'm not playing "dumb", Mdevedev is stupid incompetent idiot that should not be in charge of cleaning public toilets, let lone running any government. It reflects badly on Putin to allow that moron to hold any position.

Also saying 5% growth is OK because they managed to fuck up even worse early on by actually reducing GDP by 3% is ridiculous. Try using that stupid excuse at your work. "Hey boos, sure I'm procrastinating and working slowly, but that's an improvement because earlier  I actually destroyed bunch of work already done so it had to do it all over again. But you should remember all that is fine as long work is not in imbalance. You see work is being destroyed, and  it is re done again, all in circle and balance. Ain't am I an awesome employ, can't find better then me!"

Medvedev needs to go where he'll newer be seen again.

You are aware that sanctions against any nation, especially as hard as they are against Russia, would have crashed their economies, right? In end, counter to popular belief, be fucking thankful it is overall 5% growth and not decrease because of heavy sanctions. Yeah, could be better, but let's be real here, blame Russia's entire economic sector for last 20 years to the problems faced now. Low number of SME's contribution to GDP means major companies are relied upon, which means that the few hand full companies that do contribute the most to GDP relies heavily on exports. Both Medvedev and Putin mentioned the risk and is continuously battling to change that. Only other method is complete nationalization of the economy we're all major companies are nationalized and only SME's can be private. That is something no one had wanted to do yet because there wasn't a need.

Stop acting as like you know better and could do a better job.

Sanctions are excuse, in fact overall they were quite beneficial, and without them GDP drop and growth would probably be even worse. Reason for miserable performance of Russian economy is monetary, financial, banking  and trade polices imposed by Russian neoliberal faction.

ZoA wrote:Sanctions are excuse, in fact overall they were quite beneficial, and without them GDP drop and grown would probably be even worse. Reason for miserable performance of Russian economy is monetary, financial, banking  and trade polices imposed by Russian neoliberal faction.

Possibly, but I also see it as a function of the lack of Russian products on the Russian market - the growth of imports, especially on average day to day goods.  Sanctions helped in forcing Russian producers of food big time, this is where they shined the most.  Now Russian foods are growing popularity even outside of Russia and it is also creating new structures too - banning of palm oil for cheese as example.  Pharmaceuticals is the next big one.  Something used daily and is in high demand outside of Russia, not just within Russia.  It is still 30% of all medicines/pharmaceuticals are Russian and by 2020 its supposed to be 50%.  Problem you may see though is that such goods are very expensive, especially to import.  And in this regard, needed to be dealt with long time ago rather till now.  That is only an example.  There are obviously other sectors, especially the consumer grade electronics.

Believe it or not, even under heavy sanctions, the baking sector of Russia has been profiting rather high since the start of the sanctions.

The crash of 1929

Russia Buys 300,000 Ounces Of Gold In March - Nears 2,000 Tons In Reserves

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-04-24/russia-buys-300000-ounces-gold-march-nears-2000-tons-reserves

The people who claim Putin has done wrong and he should not have done this or that are amusing.

I know a few people who think if they just had a time machine that they could go back and shoot Hitler when he was a kid and everything would have been OK...

Too much hollywood.

If Putin had completely separated Russia from the western financial system... that would be him separating Russia from the international financial system and Russia would never have seen any growth or investment... it would have been isolated like North Korea and would have been a real basket case that the US could have moved in by now and bought up everything cheap.

It would be totally fucked up like the Ukraine.

Putin is not perfect, but claiming not getting 5% growth every year of growth is just fucking stupid. The only time you get real growth like that you end up with a bubble that bursts leading to a crash.

Do you go into work every day thinking today I will get 5% more work done today than I did yesterday?

It is not sustainable unless you are a dumbass lazy prick to start with... and even then you could only sustain such growth for a few months before your goals become unattainable.

Growth is great but where are the markets to sell your products?

If you are going to be making more things every year who is going to buy them?

Austin wrote:Since putin was the President and PM all this while what did he do to stop the flow of money outside the country ?

because he is not almighty and there are priorities? like defense? why after fielding weaposn which can both reach US mainland and stop any CVBG suddenly thsoe changes?

GarryB wrote:

They would not bail out the company... what they should do is buy up that guys shares.... ahahahaahaha... nice bit of nationalisation.... thanks to Trump.

Hopefully this was plan - to let them bankrupt (not close shop just in legal sense) and buy by state cheap Look at Chermezov asked to bankrupt Uralvagonzavod. To shut is down like "anal-ysts" claimed ? NO. To nationalize it from Driepaska hands...

GarryB wrote:The people who claim Putin has done wrong and he should not have done this or that are amusing.

because we know better

If Putin had completely separated Russia from the western financial system... that would be him separating Russia from the international financial system and Russia would never have seen any growth or investment... it would have been isolated like North Korea and would have been a real basket case that the US could have moved in by now and bought up everything cheap.

Rather like Iran. But it is not gonna happen. First because of China. Not because Chinese are charity people but in their best interest it to support Russia (military power, resources , technologies (yes yes yes) and market)
It would be totally fucked up like the Ukraine. No investment not really but pace of technological progress would be slowed down very much or better cost increased a lot. And with

ondratiev Wave means getting to 3rd world


[quote]
Putin is not perfect, but claiming not getting 5% growth every year of growth is just fucking stupid. The only time you get real growth like that you end up with a bubble that bursts leading to a crash.

You're sucha drama queen its quite achievable. First hidden reserves - internalmarket is like 150 mns. There are many arable grounds not used. Food in ever growing world's population is always hot stuff. Many services not even created because no conditions are made. Medical industry.
How India is achieving 8% p.a. with relatively low export?
https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/ind/


Nobody will stop Russia from building new technologies. Genomics,robotics , AI, material science, aerospace... this can be in worst case financed by export of oil, gas, oil products and food . But the best is: the stronger US is trying to isolate Russia and being aggressive to rest of the world the more countries will look for alternative. Like Russo-Chinese partnership ...

Growth is great but where are the markets to sell your products?
If you are going to be making more things every year who is going to buy them?

India and China alone constitute of 40% of world population and are getting richer every year ~ 8% . Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey is almost 500millions US is like below 5% of population, the whole West (including Japan and NZ is like ~12% of world population. I would not dramatize.

ZoA wrote:

5% GDP growth over 6 years "not bad"?  Will somebody filially take that brain-damaged bear behind the shed and put ti out of his missilery.

ypu're WRNG, it is excellent result - for Medvedev

India is achieving 8% growth because of 10 Million people more are able to buy toilet paper when they are going down to the river to take a shit.

GarryB wrote:The people who claim Putin has done wrong and he should not have done this or that are amusing.

I know a few people who think if they just had a time machine that they could go back and shoot Hitler when he was a kid and everything would have been OK...

Too much hollywood.

If Putin had completely separated Russia from the western financial system... that would be him separating Russia from the international financial system and Russia would never have seen any growth or investment... it would have been isolated like North Korea and would have been a real basket case that the US could have moved in by now and bought up everything cheap.

It would be totally fucked up like the Ukraine.

Putin is not perfect, but claiming not getting 5% growth every year of growth is just fucking stupid. The only time you get real growth like that you end up with a bubble that bursts leading to a crash.

Do you go into work every day thinking today I will get 5% more work done today than I did yesterday?

It is not sustainable unless you are a dumbass lazy prick to start with... and even then you could only sustain such growth for a few months before your goals become unattainable.

Growth is great but where are the markets to sell your products?

If you are going to be making more things every year who is going to buy them?

What i find disturbing is actually smart people that somehow got so indoctrinated in to liberal globalist dogma they started to believe in "foreign investments" as condition of development despite all the empirical evidence showing it to be complete bullshit. No country ever developed thanks to "foreign investments", and hundreds have tried. Entire East Europe, Africa, Central and South America are attempting to develop that way ad lest for last quarter of a century, if no longer, and they all failed miserably. In fact in E. Europe most countries are toady objectively less developed, less industrialised and less theologically advanced then they were in 1985.

Also sad evidence of liberal indoctrination is this ludicrous belief that rapid growth can somehow be a economic problem. As if there is no perpetual need for the state and public to absorb more output. This absolutely absurd belief that rapid growth is a problem is purely liberal ideological construct developed out of liberal commitment to class warfare against labour and fear of state power. Liberals don't want to increase wages in proportion to increase of productivity and they don't wont to pay more taxes or have state print more money that would delude value of their own cash holdings, ergo they refuse to take actions required for stable long term growth, so they concocted this moronic idea fast growth is a problem, and that it should be avoided.

So how to actually develop? Well capitalist way would be Japan and Korean method of state within state mega corporations that are enormously vertically and horizontally integrated they effectively operate as mid sized planed economies. Those corporations were not dependant on "foreign investments" and some such nonsense, but their internal banking and financial systems, supporting by state central banks. They issue credit to themselves, they don't beg some foreigner to buy them off in idiotic belief of selling part of their heritage will increase their prosperity. Foreign investment penetration of Korean and Japanese corporations is minimal.

But those capitalist regimes are in actual fact not most successful and fastest growing economies of 20 and 21 century. This is for 20th century USSR with fully planed economy with practically no foreign investment, and for 21st century this is China with its mix economy with it massive state sector, massive domestic capitalist bourgeois operating not from foreign investments but form copious credit provided by state owned banks, and very limited foreign capital under strict financial regulation for a long time strictly limited to specialised economic zones. They can't get majority ownership of Chinese banks, Chinese natural resources, Chinese public utilities, Chinese strategic and defence industry and so on.