Business Blog: Hoover’s Business Insight Zone

Probably a couple of longer posts later, but for now here’s some housecleaning:

–A month ago we talked about the crazy spate of mergers between stock exchanges. It may get a little crazier.

–More on Blackstone’s IPO to come; meanwhile, as I touched on yesterday, it looks like KKR may go the same route.

–It’s been quieter lately, but the battle to buy ABN Amro continues. Barclays is game to keep fighting.

–The success of Facebook’s new platform strategy comes at a cost — especially for the little guys.

–That didn’t take long: Rockstar Games (a unit of Take-Two) has delayed the release of its vile “Manhunt 2″ game, which we discussed here yesterday.

And finally, two quick follow-ups from my two posts about doing business in Russia:

–First, I note that yet another foreign-owned petroleum project in Russia has been taken over by a Russian company: “BP Set to Leave Russia Gas Project”.

–This story seems to confirm the view of Hoover’s own Stuart Hampton, who’s been covering the oil and gas sector for many years. After my initial Russia post from last week, he wrote me a note that said this:

“My take is that the Russian leadership uses Gazprom as a blunt instrument of foreign policy and acts like the Sopranos in squeezing neighboring countries to do its bidding (by periodically turning off the gas pipeline) and by roughing up foreign investors. Russia is not a nice place for foreign companies to do business, and only the big ones can absorb the blows.”

Seems about right to me. Don’t go to Russia to do business unless you’re willing to play tough.