President Vladimir Putin's government has just set a draft budget for the next three years based on the assumption Russia will be able to sell its oil for $40 a barrel. That's $10 below current world prices. Russia is the second biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. It has been talking to the Saudis and other OPEC producers about restraining supply to support prices. Putin's budget suggest he wants to be prepared if a preliminary OPEC production cut agreed last month is not implemented, or proves ineffective. He may also have learned a painful lesson. In 2015, the Russian government originally based its budget on ... (full story)