Re: SC76

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSLH37815520080917?sp=true

Russia suspends stock, bond trading as market dives

Russia halted stock and bond trading on Wednesday amid the worst market falls since the country's 1998 financial collapse and the Finance Ministry pledged a total of $60 billion of funds to help local banks.

Trading in shares, bonds and mutual funds on Russia's MICEX and RTS exchanges was suspended after less than two hours, preventing further selling on top of Tuesday's record-breaking falls. It was not clear when the bourses would reopen.

"The crisis has a shade of panic to it. The decision to stop trading was motivated by the desire to remove this panic element," said Stanislav Ponomarenko, head of research for Russia at ING bank.

Russian stocks, once touted by the government as a safe haven, have now plunged around 60 percent since May. Traders say global financial turmoil mixed with falling oil prices and Moscow's war with Georgia have formed a lethal cocktail.

"We don't give a damn anymore as to what happens in the West. The market is falling as people are in dire need for cash," said Maxim Gulevich, director of equities..............