Russia clears anti-crisis budget as more jobs lost - (Reuters: Putin) India
MOSCOW, March 19 (Reuters) - Russia's management cleared on Thursday a new budget for 2009, with plans to spend $47 billion to fight the crisis at the expense of an 8 percent deficit as fresh data showed jobless rates soared to a five-year high.
More than a million Russians have lost jobs since the start of December, including 300,000 people in February, and retail sales fell last month for the first time in a decade, during which Russia's consumer boom was fuelled by high oil prices.
"It is a unique budget. Russia is maintaining stability due to funds saved in previous years," Finance Minister Alexei Kurdrin told a news conference.
More than a million Russians have lost jobs since the start of December, including 300,000 people in February, and retail sales fell last month for the first time in a decade, during which Russia's consumer boom was fuelled by high oil prices.
"It is a unique budget. Russia is maintaining stability due to funds saved in previous years," Finance Minister Alexei Kurdrin told a news conference.
