Bearish stock markets throughout the Baltics and world

Last week all three Baltic states' bourses saw a relatively equal
fall in stock prices that dropped by an average of 1 percent to 3
percent.

Stock indexes lost approximately the same amount in most of the
world's markets, including New York, London and Moscow. In Tokyo,
prices saw a steeper fall because the Japanese market at this stage
is categorically rejecting the national currency, the yen, which has
become too strong lately.

Against this overall pessimistic backdrop, a few shares stand out in
a positive light on the Baltic markets.

The news in Latvia about a large syndicated loan to Latvijas Unibanka
stopped the bank's shares from a further downslide. Shares in
Latvijas Gaze, the national gas company, also kept demonstrating
stability, especially taking into account the significant interest in
its shares shown by its current shareholders and other potential
investors such as Gas de France.

In Estonia, shares in Eesti Telekom saw the falling trend stop.
Previously Eesti Telekom's shares had fallen below their public
offering value. Shares in the telecommunications concern usually
enjoy a rather stable demand at the price of 85 kroons ($5.67) per
share.

In Lithuania, shares in Bankas Hermis showed certain stability at the
level of around 120 litas ($30) per share although, in contrast to
early September, apathy was predominant on the Lithuanian stock
market, where further moves by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken in
reference to Hermis' and Vilniaus Bankas' shares were being awaited.