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.

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.

Andrew MacDowall in Belgrade
Mon, 30th Jan -- While Romanian demonstrators' grievances are familiar by now - swingeing public sector cuts, low salaries, tax increases, corruption, and the perception that President Traian Basescu and his administration are remote and authoritarian - potential solutions are considerably less clear.

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.

David O'Byrne and Nicholas Watson
Thu, 26th Jan -- The Russians, Turks and economic reality are killing the EU's gas pipe dream.

Thomas Escritt in Budapest
Wed, 25th Jan -- A head-strong government in Hungary that is nervously eyeing its dwindling popularity in the polls may well decide in the end that the gamble of going it alone is a better bet than the austerity that could carry on for another four years.

Anna Krachenko in Moscow
Mon, 23rd Jan -- Russian companies aren't famous for returning value to shareholders, but in the face of the prolonged crisis in Europe they have been doing just that with a raft of share buybacks. That window of opportunity looks to be closing, though.

Olesia Oleshko in Kyiv
Tue, 24th Jan -- Ukraine is set to hold general elections in the autumn, on which a new election law is expected to have a profound effect.

Molly Corso in Tbilisi
Tue, 24th Jan -- Long before it was famous for roses, revolution and reform, Georgia was known for its gold. But today the country's antiquated laws could be pushing potential investors away - to Armenia.

Vic Vapennik
Thu, 19th Jan -- "If we have another 10 years of these prices and wages, there will be no need for a census - a roll call will do." State TV usually exudes optimism, but this pithy slip from a presenter points to the serious consequences of the economic and political crisis - the mass emigration of the skilled workforce.

Tim Gosling in Tirana
Tue, 17th Jan -- Albania was one of only two European countries not to fall into recession in 2009 and PM Sali Berisha claims the economy will withstand the second wave of the crisis thanks to the government's reform programme.

Tim Gosling in Tirana
Thu, 19th Jan -- Albania is pushing to develop its tourism potential, with everyone from the prime minister down lauding the country's merits. While the government has been heavily investing in infrastructure to help visitors get to the coast, one World Bank project hopes to attract the thousands already passing by on the large cruise ships sailing the Adriatic.