OECD CALLS ON RUSSIA TO PROTECT INVESTORS.

Russia must increase security for both domestic and foreign investors, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a guide for foreign investors published in Paris yesterday. (Reuters, April 3; Financial Times, April 4) The OECD said "more stability and predictability" are needed by both shareholders and companies and that this should be achieved both by improving legislation and by removing disincentives such as export and price controls to encourage foreign investment in key sectors of the Russian economy such as oil and gas. The OECD also called for improvement of tax legislation to create a system that is clear and stable, and said that business people need personal protection from the predations of organized crime in Russia.

Russian Duma to Debate Lower Voting Age.