INTERNATIONAL

Russia Plans to Lure $2 Billion Through Securities: The nation’s central bank said it plans to attract up to $2 billion by opening up the government securities market to foreign investors. Acting Central Bank Chairman Tatyana Paramonova said many barriers remained to foreign investment in such instruments as Russian treasury bills and federal loan bonds, which Moscow-based Western financial analysts say offer healthy yield prospects. “There may be fewer obstacles than before, but there are still rather a lot,” Paramonova said before citing a list that ranged from the general state of the Russian economy to high inflation and lack of market stability.