Nearly one year ago, I opened a column on Russia's continued U.S. asset buying spree with the line: "What a difference a millennium makes." Nearly one year later, we've learned that ... one year hasn't made a lot of difference in this story.
Late last week, The Moscow Times carried a Reuters story describing plans by mega-Russian steelmaker Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) to invest $1 billion building a sheet steel factory in Ohio. If all goes as planned, U.S. regulators are expected to approve construction of the plant by year-end, adding 1.5 million tons of sheet steel destined for the automobile factories of Ford
As alluded to above, this is the continuation of a long-term trend of Russian steelmakers setting up shop, or buying up existing shops, stateside -- a wise move in light of the constant pressure from domestic industry to hike tariffs on imported steel. In past stories, we've described how Russia's Severstal beat out U.S. Steel
Meanwhile, back in the Rodina, I couldn't help but notice that no sooner had Gazprom launched its latest attack on a Western interloper (it was ExxonMobil's
Returning to the U.S., and seeing who's buying whom here, I wonder if we can say the same.