RUSSIAN STOCK MARKET OFFICIALS ABSCOND.

The president of the Russian Exchange, Aleksei Vlasov, and the former vice president of the exchange, Aleksander Deduchenko, have gone missing. Trading on the exchange was suspended in the midst of the financial crisis on June 1. A commission of creditors is meeting to discuss whether to restart the exchange, or to merge it with the Moscow Stock Exchange. There were reports that US$25 million in pledge funds were missing. (Russian TV, June 9, Finansovye izvestiya, June 9)

DUMA POSTPONES START II HEARINGS.