Robert Amsterdam

Russia is becoming the largest market for many luxury car brands, particularly Land Rover and Bentley, and some speculate that the country could overtake Germany as the biggest car market in Europe by 2010, in spite of its high import duties, currently levied at 50%. Turkey is planning to build its own long-range missile defense network by 2010 and may choose Russian-made S-300 air defense systems as its main component. Russian rail-freight carrier Globaltrans Investment intends to raise $450 million at its initial public offering in London. Mosenergo, the main supplier of power to Russia's capital, saw its net profits plummet tenfold in 2007. The head of Merrill Lynch’s Russian business has left the bank following a dispute over the way the operation was run.