Russia

On October 30, the Moscow Arbitration Court extended the bankruptcy procedure of Radio Liberty (RFE/RL, the media corporation is recognized in Russia as a foreign agent and an undesirable organization, LLC is its Russian legal entity) until June 30, 2025, Oreanda News reported. In the definition on the court's website, the specific date of the next report of the bankruptcy trustee of RCE/RS LLC, Yulia Aga-Kulieva, is not indicated.

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Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate to the highest level since the invasion of Ukraine as it struggles to cool an overheating economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Russia on Friday lifted borrowing costs for the third straight meeting, to 21% from 19%. The key rate was last near that high in late February 2022 when the central bank countered a slump in the ruble that followed the start of a lengthening war on the country’s neighbor.
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The United States and Europe are close to finalizing a plan to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan backed by Russia’s frozen central bank assets by the end of the year, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Tuesday, the New York Times reported. An announcement of the loan could come this week as finance ministers and central bank governors convene in Washington for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

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Russia's central bank hiked interest rates to their highest since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine more than 2 1/2 years ago, a step aimed at combatting the inflation fuelled by massive government outlays for the military — and by robust spending from Russian consumers in shops, the Associated Press reported. The bank raised its key rate to 19%, just below the level from late February 2022. Then the policy rate reached an unprecedented 20% in a desperate bid by the bank to shore up the ruble and ward off a financial collapse amid sanctions imposed by Western governments.
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Several European Union nations intend to challenge International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva about the Washington-based lender’s plan to engage with Russia on economic issues for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported. At a meeting of EU envoys Wednesday, France, Belgium and Poland, as well as several Baltic and Nordic nations, said they were surprised by the IMF’s decision earlier this month to restart annual economic reviews with Moscow.
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Some Russian companies are facing growing delays and rising costs on payments with trading partners in China, leaving transactions worth tens of billions of yuan in limbo, Russian sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters. Russian companies and officials for a few months have pointed to delays in transactions after Chinese banks tightened compliance following Western threats of secondary sanctions for dealing with Russia. The sources said the problem has intensified this month.
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