Russian President Vladimir Putin will celebrate the New Year at home with his family. The president's work schedule provides for a break from December 31 to January 5, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

The prisoner exchange in the "all for all" format is hardly possible before the end of the year, an ombudswoman of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Darya Morozova said in a statement on Thursday, TASS reported.

Vladimir Putin held the final meeting of 2015 with Government members on December 24.

The ruble is likely to continue its decline against major world currencies and especially the dollar, updating the record of last year in currency trading. 90 rubles per dollar – is a Bloomberg forecast that was given by analysts.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel shared information with the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ on Russian President Putin, the unrest in Ukraine and the situation in Crimea, The Times reports.

Washington must understand that the decision about new US anti-Russia sanctions will certainly have repercussions – as was the case before – in areas that are not easily calculated by the overseas sanctions policy-makers.

Russia has issued an international arrest warrant for Mikhail Khodorkovsky on suspicion of ordering a contract killing, investigators said on Wednesday, prompting the former oil tycoon to declare the Kremlin had gone mad.

Onexim has bought the 20% of the Brooklyn Nets and 55% of Barclays Center operating rights it did not already own from Nets Sports & Entertainment for $1.7 billion. Onexim is controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and Nets Sports & Entertainment is a subsidiary of publicly traded Forest City Enterprises, run by Bruce Ratner, Forbes reported.

The GBP/USD gained 50 points to trade at 1.4870 coming off its lows of the week after a mix of top level data today. The U.K. economy grew less than previously thought. Britain's economy posted 0.4 percent growth in the third quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 0.5 percent, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

Volkswagen is planning an image offensive, and its "Das Auto" global advertising slogan is an early casualty.

The First Russian Internet Economy Forum opened in Moscow on December, 21. The experts, from major Russian companies and related agencies, created a roadmap of ten main directions for the development of the Internet and other electronic services.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is the eighth in the rating of popularity of world leaders, compiled by Gallup International in the global survey. 33% of respondents said that belong to Putin positively, 43% - negatively. Putin’s popularity is growing rapidly in Asia, particularly in China and India.