The rise of the rouble against the dollar and falling bond yields have encouraged some banks to issue Eurobonds for the first time. Ben Aris reports.

Moscow City continues to dominate Russia’s regional bond market. With its infrastructure in need of rebuilding, the issue pipeline is looking promising. Ben Aris reports.

The Kremlin has shifted emphasis away from encouraging growth, which is now strong, to tackling pressing social problems like pension reform. Ben Aris finds out that, although a good plan has got off to a bad start, there is hope for the future.
Marina is standing outside the Valentino shop in tears. She received her monthly Rbs400 pension ($15) yesterday but lost her avoska, the occasional shopping bag that all Russians used to carry, along with her purse.

Since its collapse in 1998, Russia’s domestic bond market has made a spectacular comeback. Rosbank chairman Alexander Popov talks to The Banker about its future.

Russia’s straddling of the investment grade and high-yield ratings is an illustration of the contradictions within the country. Ben Aris reports that its macroeconomic success story is not yet fully supported by the political foundations it requires.

Is Russia’s aim of doubling its economy by 2010 through special economic zones realistic? Ben Aris reports.

The Czech Republic’s distressed debt market is burgeoning. If insolvency law and other legal obstacles are addressed, banks could begin to extend new loans with confidence, says Robert Anderson.

Heavy losses in Poland and a fraud in Hungary have tarnished KBC’s central European crown but it plans to persevere in the region. Nicholas Spiro reports from Warsaw.