Rumors are circulating in Moscow about a looming financial default, Novye Izvestia newspaper reports. The default is expected September 21-25 or October 1 at the latest. Some banks and exchange offices are advising clients to keep their dollars and “dump” rubles as long as the exchange rate is appropriate.

Russia’s state statistics service presented the government an unpleasant surprise. Its reports show that the country’s industrial production growth rates halved from January through August 2005 compared with last year’s figures.

Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves were $151.9 billion on September 9, $1.5 billion up from a week earlier, the central bank of Russia reported. The reserves increased for the third straight week, having added $3.8 billion, or 2.6 percent, over this period.

Communications, trade and the services sectors, which grow faster that the GDP, could become a new engine of the Russian economy, Russian economy minister German Gref told reporters today. “Oil production and oil exports stopped driving our economy in 2005 . . .

Russian prime minister Mikhail Fradkov is convinced that Russia could lead the world economy, he said at the Magistral 2005 transport exhibition in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil on Friday. The premier said Russia had great potential, which had to be used effectively.

Deflation stood at 0.1 percent in August in Russia, the federal service of state statistics reported. This is lower than the expected 0.3 percent, forecast by Alexei Ulyukayev, senior chairman of Russia’s central bank.

Raising the population's living standards is a key priority for the Russian government, President Vladimir Putin said Monday. Addressing Cabinet ministers, members of the State Council and parliament, Putin said . . .

Russia’s benchmark RTS stock index broke through a psychological barrier of 900 points last Friday. The rise was fuelled by high oil prices and fundamental underestimation of many Russian issuers. All this created such a strong demand for Russian shares . . .

Russia’s benchmark RTS stock index has broken through a psychological barrier of 900 points on Friday. This was a predictable development, with the index at 899.47 points at 13:42 Moscow time on Thursday.

The government has already reviewed its economic growth forecast for this year several times. It cut the forecast from 6.5 to 5.8 percent first, then raised it later to 5.9 percent. This difference of 0.1 percent was discussed at a government meeting.

The Russian government plans to complete the finalization of the 2006 draft federal budget on Thursday, a source in the government told RBC. Under Russian law, August 26 is the last day for submitting to parliament a draft budget for the following year.

The Common Economic Area could exist as a three-way project, without Ukraine, if the latter decides to pull out, said Viktor Spassky, head of the economy ministry's department on economic cooperation with CIS countries.

Russia is completing prepayment of part of its debt to the Paris Club of creditors today. The traditional day for such payments is August 20, which was a Saturday, and the payment was rescheduled until the next working day - August 22 . . .

The Russian government intends to base its 2006 budget on a ruble-dollar rate of 28.6, and a Urals oil price of $40 per barrel, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said Monday. The 2005 budget had previously been based on the same price, but this was revised up to $48 per barrel, Gref said. . .

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov criticized work to prepare federal target programs during a government session Thursday. Opening the session on the list of federal target programs for 2006 and the medium-term, he said: "None of the fifteen newly developed federal target . .

A routine meeting of Russian president Vladimir Putin with key ministers left many questions unanswered. First of all, Putin demanded that the government follows macroeconomic indicators, though in our country this is something that has to be achieved rather than simply maintained . . .

Capital reptraited to Russia and declared under the terms of a planned tax amnesty will not be subject to special audit. Revenue services will hold their audit only if any signs of financing terrorism exist, Russian finance minister Alexey Kudrin has told journalists.

The government met on Thursday to discuss the country’s social and economic performance in the first half of this year. The main item on the agenda was termination of the medium-term economic development program.

Russia must not permit the strengthening of the ruble, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Thursday at a cabinet session. The use of the Stabilization Fund finances as well as the reduction of inflow to the fund from oil export sales . . .

In July 2005, inflation is expected around 0.5-0.6 percent, and in this case it will total 8.5-8.6 percent for the period of January to July. This forecast is contained in Russia's social and economic development review drawn up for the period of January to July 2005 by the Russian economy ministry.

Data on tax payments of Russia’s individuals and legal entities could be made available to one more state institution. Last week, members of the federation council upper chamber of Russian parliament came up with a proposal to allow the audit chamber access to tax data.

Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves continue to drop. They were $142 billion on July 22, $100 million down from $142.1 billion a week earlier, the central bank of Russia reported.

Russia’s economy ministry does not rule out that GDP could grow 6 percent this year, Andrei Klepach, director of the economy ministry’s department for macroeconomic forecasting, told reporters on Monday.

Russia is preparing amendments to the privatization law to increase the effectiveness of the privatization processes, Head of the Department for Privatization of Federal Property Ivan Aksyonov told a news conference Tuesday.

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Friday that money held in the stabilization fund may be invested in AAA-rated foreign securities within three months.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the federal law “on special economic zones,” the presidential press service reported. The bill, which defines the legal framework for such areas, procedures for their creation and rules governing business activity . . .

The weakening of the U.S. dollar due to the revaluation of China’s yuan, ending its peg to the dollar, could strengthen the ruble, Igor Lavushchenko, an analyst at Prospekt investment consultants, told RBC.

The weighted average exchange rate for tomorrow deals was 28.68 RUR/USD at the beginning of today’s Unified Trading Session. This is RUR 0.05 below the official exchange rate set by the central bank of Russia for July 20.

Russia's Economic Development and Trade Ministry has proposed that the government privatize about 500 joint-stock companies in 2006, a ministry spokesman said.

Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization could resolve many problems in Russian-Chinese trade relations, a high-ranking official from the Chinese Trade Ministry told RIA Novosti.