bne
Sat, 4th Feb -- The third popular protest went off without a hitch on Saturday, February 4 and moves the fight between the disgruntled middle class and the Kremlin into a new phase: a war of attrition has begun.

bne
Fri, 3rd Feb -- Hungary's flag carrier Malev failed in its bid to overcome a chronic cash shortage and ceased operating on February 3. Analysts fret the airline's failure could have big knock-on effects for the country's economy, including a possible doubling of the projected budget deficit for the year.

bne
Fri, 3rd Feb -- Gazprom is reportedly close to attaining one of its most cherished dreams - control over Ukraine's gas transit system (GTS). Ukraine seems ready to cede Russia parity control of the GTS in exchange for a big gas price rebate, as the country finds itself between a rock - Russia - and a hard place - the IMF.

bne
Fri, 3rd Feb -- To help investors gain exposure to the under-invested agricultural sector, GAIA Capital Advisors has devised a new index that offers investors exposure to global food producing companies, many in emerging markets, which will be the basis for the launch of an exchange-traded fund.

bne
Thu, 2nd Feb -- Central Europe reported lowered gas imports on February 1 after Gazprom announced it had diverted extra flows to its domestic market amidst the sudden cold snap. While Poland and others downplayed the news, the fact that Russia has cut volumes as temperatures dip will do little to improve Europe's view on it as a reliable supplier.

bne
Thu, 2nd Feb -- bne's second annual investment bank survey for CEE shows that investment banks in the region managed to hold their own against the deteriorating conditions. However, it's an open question whether 2012 promises to be a further step back towards the nadir hit in 2009 or the base from which a recovery in business can be built.

bne
Wed, 1st Feb -- Santander is in talks to take over an unnamed Polish bank, Chairman Emilio Botin announced to reporters on January 31, as the Spanish giant looks to take advantage of the crisis for a second time to increase its presence in one of Europe's choice growth markets.

Ivan Tchakarov of Renaissance Capital
Wed, 1st Feb -- Renaissance Capital chief economist Ivan Tchakarov met with opposition leader and famous blogger Alexey Navalny, and gives his personal impressions on someone who could end up as the next Russian president.

Sergei Kuznetsov in Minsk
Wed, 1st Feb -- Sergei Dubkov, deputy governor of the central bank of Belarus, tells bne that the regulator has proposed to Russia's VTB Bank to sell the Belarusian government its Belarus' subsidiary, Moscow-Minsk Bank, in order to merge it with state-owned Belinvestbank.

Guy Norton in Zagreb
Tue, 31st Jan -- With the recent privatisation of some major state companies not only stalling, but in some cases reversed, some are wondering what needs to change to make Serbia a more attractive place for investors.

bne
Tue, 31st Jan -- The Chinese celebrated the start of the "Year of the Water Dragon" on January 23, which suitably suggests we are in for a year of fiery courage or a bit of a damp squib, depending on which element prevails.

bne
Tue, 31st Jan -- The rush by the international firms participating in the Czech Republic's huge nuclear tender to line up local partners reached a new level January 30, when Westinghouse Electric Company announced an exclusive agreement with the country's largest construction company Metrostav.