Russia expected to unveil anti-crisis measures

Russian authorities may announce new anti-crisis measures for the market and the economy later in the day, after a meeting with…

Russian authorities may announce new anti-crisis measures for the market and the economy later in the day, after a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Klepach said today.

Mr Medvedev was meeting top state bankers in the Kremlin today to discuss measures to fight what he termed the "large-scale financial crisis".

"A number of extra measures will be announced, aimed not only at supporting the financial sector but also at the thing that is most important to us - that this money works in the economy...that there is no credit squeeze," Klepach said. He added that the measures would redistribute risk to encourage bank lending to companies.

Moscow has already unveiled a $180 billion rescue package ranging from liquidity injections and tax cuts to the possibility of using budget funds to buy shares.

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But with the global financial sector outlook still gloomy and sentiment on Russia remaining negative, Russia's benchmark RTS stock index shed 19 per cent yesterday in the worst daily showing of its 13-year existence.