Page 2 - bne monthly magazine June 2024 Russian Despair Index

2 I Contents bne June 2024
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COMPANIES & MARKETS
4 China and Hungary sign 18 agreements during last leg of Xi's European tour
5 Czech government slams Liberty Steel for missed social payments and unrealistic promises
6 Hungary’s OTP makes reported record bid for EU bank
7 Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan join forces to power Europe
9 IIF analysis shows Kazakhstan’s economy faces bumps in the road – but no major obstacles as things stand
12 Russia's nuclear diplomacy binding emerging markets to the Kremlin
16 European banks still
in Russia see profits quadruple, pay over €800mn in taxes
18 Turkey signs LNG deal with US supermajor ExxonMobil placing question mark over Russian gas supplies
19 Fitch believes Bulgaria unlikely to enter eurozone in January 2025
20 Top Russian mobile operator MTS announces $86.5mn share buyback
21 Premier Energy seeks to raise over €135mn with Bucharest IPO
22 Dollar remains dominant in global trade, but global tensions are fragmenting the world, says IMF
24 BRICS currency is coming soon
25 Latvia’s start-up scene: a second fiddle no more
26 Russia prepares a crackdown on crypto
28 Caspian Sea water levels dropping cause alarm in Iran's north
29 European election results could spell further backtracking on climate policy
31 Trees are “coughing not breathing” due to climate crisis stress, study finds
COVER FEATURE
32 Russia’s despair index result is the best ever, while Ukraine’s crashes
36 “Guns and butter” are both important, Putin tells military commanders
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