March 5

 - Rosneft and BP signed an agreement stating conditions for developing oil fields as part of the Sakhalin-5 Project.

March 9 - The president confirmed the new cabinet. The RTS Index rose by 2.3% and oil company stocks by 2-4.5%.

 - NIKoil Investment Group placed $150 million in three-year eurobonds.

 - TNK-BP and Gazprom discussed the future of the Kovyktinsky deposit.

March 10 - The Ministry of Finance signed an agreement with the International Investment Bank to cancel Vneshkombank obligations related to Soviet debt.

 - Leonid Reiman was named First Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communication. Vympelkom shares lost 3.5%.

 - Interros declined an issue of convertible bonds secured by Norilsk Nickel stock.

 - The Ministry of Finance made an additional placement of 1.3 billion rubles in long OFZs. No auctions for short-term securities were held due to the unsatisfactory level of yield offered by the Ministry of Finance.

March 11 - Swiss prosecutors blocked YUKOS co-owners’ bank accounts at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General. YUKOS lost 2.6% of its capitalization.

 - The Ministry of Finance made additional placements of 1.1 billion rubles of five securities.<

March 12  - EES Rossiya’s board of directors met.

After the March 8^th holiday, the trend toward a stronger ruble was again in full force, but trading was light. When trading opened, the dollar lost 10 kopecks and ranged over the course of the day between 28.52 and 28.55 rubles to the dollar. However, by Wednesday the dollar had regained 4 kopecks, as it grew stronger on world exchanges. The Central Bank occasionally interfered in trading, limiting quote fluctuation. By the end of the week, the ruble had gained 6 kopecks.
The stronger ruble led to a rally on the domestic federal bond market. In the second half of the week, resources not involved in Finance Ministry auctions supported long-term securities. As a result, the yield on fifteen-year OFZs came very close to 8%. The price of short-term securities, however, remained unchanged. 
The upward trend did not leave the sub-federal and corporate bond market in the cold, either. Investors focused on more liquid issues, and the yield on long-term Moscow bonds fell to an all-time low. In particular, the yield on 38^th series bonds fell by 17 base points. Among corporate bonds, top-tier and telecom bonds distinguished themselves, and their yields fell by 10-45 base points. 
Strong gains by American securities and developing markets did not leave Russian eurobonds behind. By Tuesday, the yield on Russian Euro-30s had fallen by 29 base points. The new cabinet also had a positive effect on the market. By week’s end, however, investors preferred to fix their profits and Russian eurobond prices fell significantly. The spread on the Russian segment grew by 5 points in two days.
The RTS again hit a historic high, closing at 688 on Tuesday. The second half of the week saw profit fixing, as investors sold off their shares for no apparent reason. The leader this week was Surgutneftegaz (+3.8%), as investors hope that the new Law on Joint Stock Companies would force the company to soften its dividend policy. Sberbank also fared better than most on the market (+3.2%). Among the outsiders was Norilsk Nickel, which lost 1.1%.

The Financier’s Date Book

March 16             Volga places 1.5 billion rubles in three-year bonds.

March 17            Izhmash Avto places 1.2 billion rubles in three-year bonds.

March 18            Yakutia places 1 billion rubles in bonds

March 20            Surgutneftegaz extraordinary shareholders meeting