Imminent London property crash?

[Ticktock]

Germany, 30% of their gas is Russian, oh and Schalke are sponsored to the tune of 10 million by Gazprom

The latest figures I can find for the German energy mix are from 2009, so a fair bit out of date now. They show gas as about 20% of the mix, so that gives the Germans energy markets a massive 7% reliance on Russian gas. Considering they've been on an energy efficiency kick for the past few years, is it even that high any more?

And who / what the hell is Schalke? If it's a football team, then WGAF?

[darmstadt]

Not very at all, for Europe as a whole. It makes up about 10% of Europe's total energy needs. In some countries (Italy from memory being one) Russian gas is more important.

Germany, 30% of their gas is Russian, oh and Schalke are sponsored to the tune of 10 million by Gazprom

[d000hg]

I hope so. Actually, it's inevitable. It's not if but when. Before or after the elections?

CUK "masterminds" have been predicting it since before the end of the last housing boom, that the previous price drops were "just the tip of the iceberg". When we get a price crash in 10 years they'll be there saying "I told you so". A bit like the people who confidently crowed about how QE would lead to post-war hyper-inflation...

[SpontaneousOrder]

That depends how closely Putin is going to ape Hitlers behaviour

[Ticktock]

How important is Russian gas to Europe?

Not very at all, for Europe as a whole. It makes up about 10% of Europe's total energy needs. In some countries (Italy from memory being one) Russian gas is more important.

[MicrosoftBob]

How important is Russian gas to Europe?

That depends how closely Putin is going to ape Hitlers behaviour

[tomtomagain]

How important is Russian gas to Europe?

[Ticktock]

With about $70 billion due to flee the Russian economy over the next quarter, they've got to invest it somewhere.

[petergriffin]

I hope so. Actually, it's inevitable. It's not if but when. Before or after the elections?

[scooterscot]

Russian tourist spending in UK drops


The real threat to the UK economy looms!

Russian tourist spending in UK sees sharp fall in February

24 March 2014 Last updated at 00:02 GMT
Prada sign and security man Russians tourists are among the biggest spenders in UK-based luxury stores
UK hotels and shops saw income from Russians fall 17% in February compared with a year ago as visitor numbers fell back amid political unrest in Ukraine.

Finance company Global Blue said unrest and the effects of a weakening economy left Russians disinclined to travel.

The findings come from tax-free shopping specialists, Global Blue, which processes the vast majority of tax-free spending by overseas visitors.

Russians are among the top five biggest-spending tourists in the UK.

Global Blue, which processes 80% of all tax-free shopping in the UK, said they spend an average of almost £700 per transaction.

Non-EU nationals can shop "tax-free" by claiming back the VAT - worth 20% - on spending above £30 at shops and hotels, basically by filling in a form.

Luxury
“Start Quote
The unstable situation in Russia has shown its effect on tourism spend this year as the weakening economy leaves shoppers disinclined to travel”
Gordon Clark Global Blue
The fall in numbers saw Russians slip from the third-biggest spending nation in the country to fourth place, overtaken by Nigerian nationals.

Global Blue says this fall in numbers, if the political and economic uncertainty continues, could have a serious impact on certain shops and hotels, particularly at the luxury end of the market, which is preferred by Russian visitors.

Gordon Clark, UK country manager of Global Blue, said: "The unstable situation in Russia has shown its effect on tourism spend this year as the weakening economy leaves shoppers disinclined to travel."

But he said the UK was still an attractive place for Russian tourists because of the range of luxury brands on offer.

Until the fall-off in February spending had been rising sharply - with an annual increase in spending of 16% in 2013.

It also pointed out that the tourism body, Visit Britain, predicts growth in spending by Russian shoppers of 75% by 2020.

The UK's top five tax-free spending visitors

Rank Nationality % all tax-free UK spending % annual growth Average spend per transaction
Source: Global Blue

1

Middle East

29%

31%

£825

2

China

28%

23%

£683

3

Nigeria

4%

-8%

£628

4

Russia

4%

-17%

£693

5

Hong Kong

3%

23%

£665