International Business

Russia Launches Mutual Funds: In an ambitious effort to seduce wary citizens into putting their huge savings somewhere other than under their mattresses, Russia is creating its first Western-style mutual funds. The funds would channel Russians’ individual savings--estimated at $20 billion to $50 billion nationwide--into cash-strapped privatized companies. President Boris N. Yeltsin signed a decree last week establishing new rules for mutual funds, in a move that officials hope will inject legitimacy into Russia’s investment fund market, disgraced by a slew of recent frauds.