Nicholas Watson in Prague
Thu, 2nd Sep -- Germany is causing a bit of a stink in Central Europe with its decision at the end of August to vote against an €80m EU subsidy toward building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) gas terminal at the port of Swinoujscie near the German border in northwest Poland.

bne
Thu, 2nd Sep -- Despite having more billionaires than any other country, Russia has seen inequality fall during the last decade of strong economic growth: not only is the gap between Russia's rich and poor the smallest of all the four Bric countries, incomes are more evenly distributed than in the US.

James Marson in Kyiv
Tue, 31st Aug -- It was to be the new government's flagship overhaul that would demonstrate to investors Ukraine was serious about reforming its economy overburdened by taxes and red tape. But the business community slammed the first version of the draft tax code as oppressive and choking for small businesses, and the second as only a slight improvement.

Brigham Marriott of Phoenix Capital
Mon, 30th Aug -- The main ingredient in Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's "formula" is a return of Ukraine's government to the presidential-parliamentary system of the Kuchma era.

Tim Gosling in Moscow
Wed, 25th Aug -- The record-breaking heat wave that afflicted Russia this summer has hurt the economy and the effects have already spilled over to the rest of the world by sending food prices soaring.

Dimitri Kryukov of Verno Investment Management
Wed, 25th Aug -- The summer heat wave in central Russia that saw temperatures soar over 40C, appears to be over. But the long-term economic impact of the drought remains unclear.

Nicholas Watson in Prague
Wed, 1st Sep -- Considering that the winner of bne's best equity fund in last year's ranking managed it with a return of just 9.9%, the 78.1% return of this year's winner, the Raiffeisen-Russia-Equities fund, shows just how far and fast the recovery in the region's markets has been.

Roland Nash of Renaissance Capital
Tue, 24th Aug -- Opec, the Chinese government and the US Federal Reserve have as much influence over Russia as the Kremlin or the oligarchs. For a country of Russia's global economic and political significance, this is not a sustainable situation.

bne
Fri, 20th Aug -- Ukraine is the 49th best country in the world, according to a ranking published by Newsweek magazine, and offers the best quality of life among low-income countries across the globe.

Derek Brower in London
Mon, 23rd Aug -- The global gas glut, a dampening of demand and the prospect of new domestic supplies has ended the CEE region's energy-security worries.

Nadia Damon in Sofia
Tue, 31st Aug -- Gold has traditionally been a safe haven in times of trouble, so it's little wonder that over the last couple of years private investors and institutions alike have moved to shore up their portfolios with this most tangible of assets.

Guy Norton in Moscow
Tue, 31st Aug -- A breakaway group from Russian hedge fund Kazimir Partners led by Dmitri Kryukov has set up shop on its own as Verno Investment Management and is now drumming up money in Europe, the Middle East and the US.