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.

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.

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.

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.

Robert Smyth in Budapest
Tue, 31st Aug -- It might have taken a while to put together, but the New Hungary Venture Capital Programme and its eight new European Investment Bank-backed funds have made more than €160m available for small businesses located outside the Hungarian capital, with the managers of the various funds now eying up a string of investments.

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.

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.

Clare Nuttall in Almaty
Fri, 27th Aug -- Border closures after the Kyrgyz revolution and Kazakhstan's entry into the Customs Union with Russia have presented challenges for Central Asia's hundreds of thousands of bazaar vendors and shuttle traders this year. But the region's multi-billion-dollar bazaar trade has always proved to be enormously flexible.

Nicolaus Heinen of DB Research
Fri, 27th Aug -- Following the major storm, it's now time for Europe to start the rigging.

Samantha Shields in Batumi, Georgia
Thu, 26th Aug -- Batumi, capital of Georgia's tiny autonomous Black Sea region of Adjara, is hoping to capitalize on its position as President Mikheil Saakashvili's pet project to reclaim its 19th century glory days and become an important commercial and tourism hub within the next 10 years.

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.