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☆ Japanese yen weakens to fresh 38-year lows; top currency diplomat replaced
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThe Japanese yen weakened to fresh 38-year lows on Friday, crossing the 161 mark against the dollar for the first time since 1986 and reaching a high of 161.27, according to LSEG data. The yen has been steadily deprecating since the Bank of Japan ended its negative interest rate policy and scrapped its yield curve control policy in March. Following the move, the currency crossed the 150 mark against the dollar, reaching 160 in late April before the country's finance ministry intervened. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart iconJapan's finance ministry confirmed that it intervened between April 26 to May 29 to the tune of 9.7885 trillion yen ($62.25 billion). The benchmark U.S. federal funds rate stands at 5.25% to 5.5%, while the Bank of Japan's benchmark interest rate is at 0%-0.1%.

Persons: Dong Chen, Dong Organizations: Currency Museum, Bank of Japan's Institute for Monetary, Economic Studies, Bank of Japan, Japan Ministry of Finance, U.S, Bank Locations: Asia, Swiss, Japan

☆ Russia played a card that nearly doubled its energy revenues in February
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's February oil and gas revenues jumped by over 80% from a year ago. AdvertisementRussia played a card that nearly doubled its energy revenues ahead of the presidential elections later this month. In February, Russia raked in 945.6 billion rubles, or $10.4 billion, in oil and gas revenues, according to data from the country's Finance Ministry published on Tuesday. That's compared to 521.2 billion rubles in February 2023. This means the energy giant's takings from oil and gas jumped over 80% from a year ago, according to Bloomberg's records.

Persons: —, That's Organizations: Service, country's Finance, Business Locations: Russia, Ukraine

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka said Wednesday that it has reached an agreement in principle with a group of creditors including India and Japan on debt restructuring, a crucial move toward unlocking a second instalment of a $2.9 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in April 2022 with more than $83 billion in debt — more than half of it to foreign creditors. Political Cartoons View All 1270 ImagesSri Lanka needed financial assurances from its bilateral creditors in order to receive the second bailout installment. The ministry said the debt treatment terms will be further detailed and formalized in a memorandum of understanding between Sri Lanka and the creditor committee, which is co-chaired by India, Japan and France and includes 17 countries. ___This version corrects the name of the group in the agreement to the Official Creditor Committee, not Official Credit Committee.

Persons: Gotabaya Rajapaksa Organizations: International Monetary Fund, country's Finance Ministry, IMF, Sri, Sri Lanka’s IMF, Credit Locations: COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, Sri Lanka’s, Sri, Lanka, France

☆ A timeline of 5 major hurdles Russia's imposed on Western firms trying to exit the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours. Some companies trying to exit Russia recently are facing demands of even steeper discounts, Reuters reported on August 25, citing three persons familiar with exit processes for foreign companies. Both firms had been trying to exit Russia for months before the seizures, before the sudden takeover. In July, Moscow targeted the Russian assets of food and beverage giants Danone and Carlsberg for seizures. A month later, in September, Russia demanded foreign banks unfreeze Russian assets if they wanted to exit the market.

Persons: Linklaters, —, Vladimir Putin's, Germany's, Fortum —, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Alexei Moiseev Organizations: Service, Yale University, Russia, Russian, Novaya Gazeta, Companies, Kremlin, Investors, Danone, Carlsberg, Financial Times, UBS, Credit Suisse —, Zenit Bank, Reuters, Raiffeisen Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, London, Russian, Moscow

☆ Russian companies doubled their revenues to $15 trillion last year because the energy market did so well — but that doesn't mean they're reaping massive profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But it's not all good news for Russian companies: Due to sanctions, their profits grew just 6% on-year. That's nearly double the 655 trillion rubles Russian companies made in 2021, per the tax service department's statistics. In particular, Russian energy giant Gazprom posted record profits in the first half of 2022, prompting Moscow to impose windfall taxes on the company. Russia's energy revenues have also been hit heavily by restrictions against its exports, particularly after the European Union — a major customer of Russian energy — banned Russian crude oil starting December 5. In the first quarter of 2023, Russia posted a deficit of almost 2.4 trillion rubles — sharply reversing a surplus of more than 1 trillion rubles in the first quarter of 2022.

Persons: That's, it's, —, Andrei Belousov Organizations: Service, RBC, Gazprom, European Union, RBC TV Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow

☆ Russia has lost so much money due to the Ukraine war that it's now trying to raise $4 billion by slapping a windfall tax on its oligarchs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia will slap windfall taxes on large companies making over 1 billion rubles in profits since 2021. Russia approved a draft bill to slap up to a 10% one-off windfall tax on large Russian companies, according to a Tuesday announcement by the country's finance ministry. "They understand that they had huge windfall profits for 2021 and 2022, simply massive, bigger than the budget," Belousov said, per Interfax. This instance isn't the first time Russia's imposing windfall taxes to fund the war in Ukraine. Russia's energy revenues have also been majorly hit by sweeping restrictions against its exports, particularly after the European Union — a major customer of Russian energy — banned Russian crude oil starting December 5.

Persons: —, It's, Andrei Belousov, Belousov, Timur Nigmatullin Organizations: RBC TV, Service, RBC, Financial Times, Gazprom, European Union Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Dollar sags versus yen after Japan warning; Aussie slides on China data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Japanese 10,000 yen and U.S. 100 dollar banknotes are arranged for a photograph in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept. 7, 2017. The dollar languished below the psychological 140 yen level on Wednesday after getting knocked back from a six-month high after Japanese officials met on Tuesday to discuss their currency. The Aussie was last down 0.15% at $0.6507, heading back toward last week's 6 1/2-month low of $0.6490. The New Zealand dollar sank as much as 0.5% to a 6 1/2-month trough at $0.60125. Against the Chinese yuan, the U.S. dollar climbed as much as 0.38% to 7.1171 for the first time since Nov. 30.

Persons: Rodrigo Catril, Bart Wakabayashi, Sterling Organizations: Australian, National Australia Bank, Reserve Bank of Australia, New Zealand, U.S, State Locations: Tokyo, Japan, China, United States, Tuesday's

[1/2] Japanese Yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON/SINGAPORE, May 30 (Reuters) - The yen strengthened on Tuesday on news of a meeting of Japan's finance ministry and central bank, while elsewhere the dollar rose to a two-month high against a basket of its peers after the U.S. debt ceiling deal. The dollar was last down 0.18% against the Japanese yen at 140.18 after the country's finance ministry said senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Japan and Financial Services Agency will meet from 5:30 p.m. (0830 GMT). Japanese central bank policy has been a major focus for investors in the past year after the BOJ last year intervened to strengthen the yen. Kenneth Broux, head of corporate research for FX and rates at Societe Generale, said FX intervention at current levels was unlikely.

☆ Ecuador launches debt buyback plan aimed at Galapagos protection
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] A pelican is seen on Santa Cruz Island, part of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. REUTERS/Santiago ArcosLONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Ecuador has launched a long-awaited debt buyback plan that will free up money to protect its Galapagos Islands, one of the world's most precious ecosystems and the inspiration for Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. "The Offeror is making the Offer... as part of a broader refinancing operation to channel savings and promote certain conservation and sustainability efforts," the buyback plan said. The operation is private, the country's finance ministry said in a message to journalists, and cannot be discussed. Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ It's really hard for foreign companies to break up with Russia — and there are 3 main reasons why
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, just 520 firms have fully exited Russia, per a Yale study. Quite simply, it's just not that straightforward for a company to get out of Russia right now — and there are three main reasons why. Companies have been trying to exit Russia in an orderly fashionMany companies were quick to announce their intent to leave the Russian market after it invaded Ukraine. Thus, companies that want to exit Russia are pressed to find buyers for their Russian operations who would continue running the business under a different brand. Multinational companies face operation challenges in their exitsBecause many foreign companies operating in Russia are multinationals, shutting operations in the country can have a domino effect on their businesses elsewhere.

☆ Russia is forcing Western companies exiting its market to make a donation to the country — and it's making it harder for them to leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Foreign investors exiting Russia must donate at least 10% of the sale proceeds of their assets to the state. Russia witnessed an exodus of companies it invaded Ukraine, but some have remained — either voluntarily or due to challenges in leaving the Russian market. About 550 foreign companies are still actively operating in the country, according to Yale's list. These options are not available to every company — especially since there would be fewer potential buyers in the first place due to sweeping sanctions against Russia, according to Estrin and Meyer. Over 2,000 companies are seeking approval to exit the Russian market, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing a person involved in an exit negotiation.

☆ UK's shortest-serving PM Liz Truss blames economic 'orthodoxy' for downfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Liz Truss blamed on Sunday the economic "orthodoxy" in the country's finance ministry, other nations and in parts of the governing Conservative Party for derailing her premiership and "plan for growth". But she was not successful, she wrote, because she had underestimated "the blob of vested interests" and orthodoxy. "As I had spelled out during the leadership campaign, I wanted to go for growth ... But this was not in line with the instinctive views of the Treasury (finance ministry) or the wider orthodox economic ecosystem." Grant Shapps, business minister, said everyone wanted lower taxes but Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government had to focus on reducing debt, bringing down inflation and boosting growth first.

☆ Pakistan, IMF open talks to unlock crucial funding - ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Pakistan on Tuesday began the much-waited talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock stalled funding, the country's finance ministry said. Pakistan secured a $6 billion IMF bailout in 2019, which was topped up with another $1 billion last year. Unlocking the funding is crucial for the South Asian economy as its foreign exchange reserves have dropped to cover just three weeks of imports. The IMF delegation is led by mission chief Nathan Porte, while Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar led his team. It said the teams discussed and reviewed the economic and fiscal policies and reforms agenda to accomplish the ninth review.

☆ Sweden faces recession lasting into 2024, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"I said in October that Sweden was heading towards an economic winter and what we see now is that the winter looks to be more protracted than we thought," Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson told a news conference. The economy is now seen growing by just 1% in 2024, down from 2% seen previously, before recovering to growth of 2.7% in 2025, the ministry predicted. Swedish households have become increasingly gloomy in recent months, hit by rampant inflation, rising mortgage costs and record-high electricity prices. November CPIF, the inflation target measure for the Riksbank, was 9.5% in November, way above the 2% target. Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Simon Johnson, editing by Terje Solsvik and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's Urals oil averaged $57.49/bbl in past month, below price cap
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Urals price was sharply lower than $80 per barrel for the international Brent benchmark . According to Reuters data, the Urals price for delivery from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk on a FOB basis is currently $48.69 per barrel. Market sources said Urals crude has been sold at deeper discounts this month following a European ban on Russian oil imports, and dominant buyer India has bought barrels at well below the West's $60 price cap. Since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine in February, India has become the main outlet for seaborne cargoes of Urals crude. The spread, or difference, between Urals and dated Brent - the price of physical, light North Sea crude oil, - has risen sharply from early February, when it stood at around minus $1.

The G7, including the United States, as well as the whole of the European Union and Australia, are planning to implement the price cap on sea-borne exports of Russian oil on Dec. 5. India has emerged as the second-largest single buyer after China of Russian oil since the conflict began in February. Indian refiners have taken the place of refiners in countries that have imposed sanctions on Russian crude imports, or have steered clear of Russian crude to avoid negative publicity. That means even the delivered cargoes are about the same level as the price cap. The U.S. Treasury guidance does not allow buyers in countries that have imposed sanctions on Russian crude imports, such as in the United States and the European Union, to buy Russian oil even under the price cap.

Creditors and investors are closely monitoring how China, the world's largest bilateral lender, is managing debt negotiations around the world. The policy bank has extended to Zambia more than half of Chinese loans while a $982 million loan was made jointly with the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Including commercial lending, Zambia government data showed it owed more than a third of its $17.27 billion external debt to Chinese lenders by end-2021. Reuters GraphicsThe bank also leads China's team in Ethiopia's bilateral debt talks, its state finance minister told Reuters last month. In 2018, EximBank agreed to extend repayment on a loan worth at least $2.5 billion for a railway between Addis Ababa and Djibouti by 20 years.

☆ Mexico's Q3 economic activity points to 2.4% annual growth -finance ministry
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Edgard GarridoMEXICO CITY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Mexico's economic activity indicators in the third quarter point to economic growth in line with forecasts of 2.4% annual growth in 2022, the country's finance ministry said on Friday. The ministry said dynamic economic activity and a strong labor market led to "positive results" in tax collection, putting it on track to meet year-end estimates. It also said economic activity was propelled by gross fixed investment, especially in national machinery and equipment and residential construction. Refinancing strategies have managed to refinance an accumulated $78 billion, or 14% of Mexico's total debt, according to the ministry. Mexico's financial system also remained "well capitalized" and its credit market continued to show signs of recovery, the ministry said.

"Policy stability is absolutely critical," Miles Celic, chief executive of finance lobby group TheCityUK told Reuters. Finance chiefs want Sunak to balance spending on infrastructure with easing immigration policy for skilled workers and investing in education, Celic added. Sunak confirmed on Tuesday that he was keeping Hunt as his finance minister, after he was appointed late in Truss' brief premiership to shore up confidence in Britain's finances - and tear up much of her planned tax-cutting agenda. Britain's 164 billion pound ($185 billion) financial industry was largely locked out of directly serving EU customers after Brexit. Any moves to extract more tax from banks are likely to be met with industry opposition.

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