Russian Market Falls 5% On Putin Comments

Late Thursday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched a scathing attack on Mechel, the largest supplier of coal for steelmakers in Russia. Heavy trading in New York sent the stock down nearly 40 percent, wiping more than $5 billion off its value.

Putin criticized the company for charging much higher prices for raw materials domestically than it does for its exports. He called for an antitrust investigation into Mechel's activities.

The last time Putin issued such a scathing attack was on the former-Russian oil giant, Yukos. Yukos is no longer in existence, and its assets were swallowed up on the cheap by its Russian competitor and ultimately ended up in the hands of Gazprom. Yukos' chairman, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is doing hard time in Siberia, on what appear to be trumped up charges.