N plans 30 billion in shortterm rouble bonds

Trading volumes are low and the market has been devastated during the last three months," Nikolay Podguzov, analyst at Renaissance Capital, said.BUYER'S MARKETAs the financial crisis wears on, even quasi-sovereign names should get used to much higher yields and shorter maturities.The state railway monopoly, Russian Railways, placed a 3-year 20 billion rouble bond last July at 8.5 percent, but yields for another bond in November rose to 13.5 percent and organizer Sberbank had to buy almost two-thirds of the issue.That practice of bonds being bought up by the organizers or those linked to them, and then used as collateral for funding from the central bank is becoming increasingly common. It has received the backing of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin while the global credit crunch keeps other sources of funding shut.Podguzov estimates the potential size of such issues at 200-250 billion roubles this year and says some of these bonds may be sold on once the market wakes up.Even after the devaluation is over, only issues matching the central bank's collateral requirements and thus only from high-rated issuers will be able to find demand, analysts say.The central bank mostly offers liquidity via short-term loans of up to one year, meaning that commercial banks are keen to balance that with equally short-term bond holdings.Companies are accepting the new reality. Oil major LUKOIL (LKOH.MM) with maturity periods of 1 year and less, while coal miner Mechel (MTL.N) plans 30 billion in short-term rouble bonds.RenCap's Podguzov said the 15-20 percent yield for the best Russian corporates could be attractive to investors."It is a buyers' market now, not a sellers' one as it has been for the last several years," he said.Trust Bank sees a 13-15 percent yield as a minimum for the top-tier issuers and 20-30 percent for quality second-tier ones.(Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Deals Inflows Outflows Russia. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian regions will be forced to rely on the central government to plug growing fiscal holes after the rouble's decline and fraud scandals crushed their hopes of raising cash independently. Deals Inflows Outflows RussiaThe $16 billion regional debt market ground to a standstill last August, when Russia spooked investors and triggered capital flight by sending troops into neighboring Georgia. Now, daily recorded trades are numbered in dozens.The market received another blow when a string of firms affiliated with the Moscow region, the most heavily indebted Russian province, defaulted, prompting Standard & Poor's to cut the region's rating to "selective default.""In the near future the regions will increasingly depend on the federal budget because they will not be able to independently raise cash in the market," said Vladimir Bragin, analyst from Trust Bank.Gaping holes in regional budgets will put additional strain on Russia's treasury, whose own revenues are dwindling due to falling commodity prices and economic growth rates.

Analysts estimate the regions' revenues may fall by up to 25 percent, making spending cuts necessary."The regions will suffer most from the crisis," said Troika analyst Anton Tabakh, pointing out that regional revenues come mostly from profit and income tax, which are expected to fall sharply due to the crisis."They are now crowding the corridors of the Finance Ministry," he said.BAILING OUT THE REGIONSRussia plans to review the 2009 budget to take into account lower oil revenues and a $200 billion-plus plan to support the economy and stave off social unrest, as well as regional financing needs. Analysts say the state will bail out the regions as needed but it is too early to estimate the cost.The likelihood of any defaults on regional debt will probably be judged on the performance of the Moscow region, whose next coupon payment is due on January 20.Overall though, the state is expected to ensure that the regions themselves do not default, although linked entities may do, such as the various areas within the Moscow region.The City of Moscow, the market's benchmark issuer, placed less than a 10th of its 15 billion rouble bond last week, offering a yield which, analysts said, can be easily beaten by "buying up a foreign currency and holding it in a safe box."That has further reduced the attractiveness of rouble bonds. Yields on many reliable borrowers with stable tax revenue bases, such as the Samara region, have soared to 25-30 percent.Reining in the regions, which enjoyed much political freedom in the 1990s with many of them de-facto becoming independent fiefdoms, was one of the key goals of ex-President Vladimir Putin's eight years in power.Putin scrapped elections of regional governors, who had grown too powerful for the central government to tolerate, banned regions from issuing eurobonds and redirected the lion's share of tax revenues to the federal budget.However, the investigation into fraud against the head of a company that organized bond issues worth over $1 billion for firms affiliated with Moscow region's government indicates that Putin's measures have failed to stamp out corruption.(Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Deals Inflows Outflows Russia. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian companies are facing repayments of over $100 billion this year on foreign debt borrowed to fund heady growth plans in the days of the global oil boom, but the biggest test of solvency may be behind them. Deals Inflows Outflows RussiaOf a total of $300 billion in external Russian corporate debt, analysts' estimates on 2009 repayments range from $100 billion up to $130 billion.Deutsche Bank's Yaroslav Lissovolik estimates 2009 foreign corporate debt repayments at $120 billion and says repayments of $27 billion and $32 billion in the first and second quarter were still less daunting than the schedule of late 2008, in the heat of the crisis when oil prices were falling."We have gone through the most difficult wave of debt repayments. This wave uncovered the more vulnerable links in the equation that allowed the government to extend support," Lissovolik said.The risk remains that Russia's monetary authorities and investors could again be blindsided by a wave of undisclosed debts or failure to refinance stopgap loans taken out in late 2008 to ward off default or margin calls."Foreign debt is a Pandora's box.

We say redemption volumes will be $80 billion in 2009, but it can be much bigger. All those covenants, clauses in debt deals we know very little about them," a central bank source said.Rapid economic growth and soaring oil prices provided cover as Russia's corporate sector ramped up borrowing to fund expansion and seize merger opportunities. International lenders were eager accomplices, encouraged by strong cash flows."Simply put, in August Moscow was flooded with international bankers competing to provide funding to Russian entities," Renaissance Capital said in its 2009 outlook, noting that Russia "does not have a debt problem, it has a solvency problem.""By October the only financiers visiting were those trying to get their money back."Russia went to war with Georgia in August and investors fled the stock market The value of collateralized assets sank. Borrowers, forced to stump up to meet loan covenants, sold off more assets and sent Russian asset values into a downward spiral.Standard & Poor's credit analyst Elena Anankina said debt levels came as surprise because they were underestimated in official statistics, which excluded offshore debt secured by Russian assets."Oligarchs borrowed with collateral and the central bank did not catch it."LESS SUPPORTRussia's richest men, threatened with the loss of their core holdings, were forced to queue up at state banks as they doled out a $50 billion aid package financed out of Russia's reserves.Signs are that the government may try to nudge them back to the market before the next critical hour approaches."Clearly we are seeing that the government is starting to discover budget constraints, whether the central bank reserves or the fiscal reserves of the Finance Ministry," Deutsche's Lissovolik said."I certainly do expect that the scale of state support is likely to be cut back in the course of this year."There were other hidden dangers in the borrowing spree: a sharp decrease in the tenor of new borrowings and a pervasive belief that the rouble would rise on the back of oil revenue."We have paid a big portion of reserves for the gradual devaluation," the central bank source said. Capital flight suggests some debt has been quietly retired or refinanced into rouble debt.Renaissance estimated Russia's debt-to-GDP ratio would fall to just over 40 percent by the end of 2009 from around 60 percent in the middle of 2008, when Russia began succumbing to global credit pressures."Russia saw a net outflow of $133 billion in Q4 2008 alone," Tim Ash, CEEMEA head of research at Royal Bank of Scotland, said in a research note. "In some respects this is positive as it suggests that overall debt is being repaid, and leverage reduced."(Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Antonina Vorobyova; Additional Research by Maria Grigoryeva and Evgenij Kovalev; Editing by Ian Jones) Deals Inflows Outflows Russia. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, a preview was shown for UFC 107 in Memphis. While the main event, a lightweight title fight between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez, is incredibly intriguing, one can't help but recall the original plan for this fight.Just a few months ago, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was set to take on Rashad Evans in Memphis in order to settle a score fueled by a season together as opposing coaches on the most recent edition of "The Ultimate Fighter." After watching just one promo, fans were salivating at the idea of this heated rivalry climaxing in what could've been the most brutal fight of the year.Instead, Jackson decided to take the role of B.A.

Baracus in the upcoming film "The A-Team." At first, this was merely a delay for the fight with Evans. Instead, after Dana White sounded off on Jackson's decision, Rampage decided to retire from the UFC, officially ending the possibility of a blockbuster bout against Evans and somewhat ruining this season of "TUF."However, for one who has paid attention to this year's "TUF," is Rampage's retirement really that blindsidingThink about it. The knock on Rampage Jackson has always been about how he lacks the passion and dedication to be an elite UFC fighter. People constantly noted how Jackson hated the concept of training for fights. Even in his retirement statement, Jackson seemed to have a complaint about almost every fight he's had in the organization (too short notice, not the ideal opponent, fans against him for fighting Chuck Liddell, etc.).Instead, Jackson always seemed to be focused more on being remembered for his personality and stage presence. Thus, when White called him out for taking on a movie role rather than going through with a fight he demanded, Jackson took offense and called it quits.Like many, I too was surprised to hear that Rampage would toss away his fight with Evans and retire. Their interactions on "TUF" are so heated, they left many to imagine just how intense their fight would be. Tickets for UFC 107 were sure to sell by the thousands with each episode.But it wasn't until I watched a few episodes from this season of that I realized just how uncommitted Jackson is to anything else beyond himself.As of right now, Team Rampage is down 0-6 to Team Evans. Only two of the fights have actually gone the distance of two rounds. The others ending in weak TKOs (Roy Nelson vs Kimbo Slice) or quick submissions (Wes Sims vs. Justin Wren). At this point, one has to wonder if many of these results can be blamed on the coaching.Watching Rashad Evans coach, you can see the dedication and intelligence which has made him the fighter he is today. He and his staff strategically broke down each contestant when deciding their team picks. He takes time with each of his fighters to help them improve any flaws they may have and spends as much time as he can giving out final advice before fights. You get the sense that Evans cares about his team and is driven to help them succeed.To get the exact opposite feeling, look no further than Team Rampage.Did Jackson pick Kimbo Slice because he believed he could turn him into a fighter, or because he's a big name and wanted to make sure he didn't end up on Team Evans (Rampage picked Slice well before any preliminary workouts.) Did he pick Abe Wagner to fight Jon Madsen because he felt Wagner's striking could overshadow Madsen's superior wrestling, or because Wagner was simply taller and bigger than Madsen (Madsen eventually pummeled Wagner.)Lately, Jackson is skipping out on pre-fight warm-ups to get food while also refusing to console his fighters after a loss. After one fight, Jackson complained to his coaches about how "green" his fighters were. Aren't these the fighters Jackson himself determined would be leading his team to victoryLet's not forget the most recent episode, where Evans was prepping Darrill Schoonover with fight strategy while Jackson was psyching up Zak Jensen by constantly insulting Schoonover and referring to him by his less-than-flattering nickname.In the end, it all adds to the presumption that Rampage's world doesn't extend very far beyond himself. When his team loses, he's less concerned over his fighters losing self-esteem and more concerned with looking bad for putting these men in the octagon and losing to an enemy.Let's face it: Rampage Jackson is an enigma, as confusing as they come.Why would someone spend one day screaming "I want my belt back" and talking about knocking out Rashad Evans, only to follow it up by choosing a movie role over said fight Why would a coach claim to be focused on his team winning, but instead puts more effort into playing practical jokes on the opposing squad while said group continues to obliterate everyone on Team RampageIt all comes back to the original point when it comes to his career in the UFC, Rampage Jackson was more focused on making himself look good than he was in becoming a top-notch fighter. It was noticeable early on and is more than evident in watching "Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights," which could very well be the last UFC event Jackson takes place in.Will Rampage ever find his way back into the UFC octagon Perhaps.But if his attitude remains the same and he still needs a separate locker room for his ego, expect him to exit even quicker this time around.. MURRIETA, CA, Jan 21 (MARKET WIRE) ActionView International, Inc. (OTCBB: AVWI) today announced the resultsof a recent hearing related to the Plan of Reorganization and DisclosureStatement filed by Jim Palmer Trucking, Inc in its Chapter 11 bankruptcycase. ActionView International provided a $250,000 loan to Jim PalmerTrucking, Inc. in May 2008 and is currently seeking repayment of the loan.At the hearing held on January 15, 2009, several secured and unsecuredcreditors voiced objections to the Disclosure Statement filed by JimPalmer Trucking, Inc.