Thousands of Ukrainians are picking up shattered lives and trying to start over, many creating small businesses that they hope will bring them and their new communities fresh purpose, the New York Times reported. Others are working jobs that are a step down from positions lost because of war, grasping lifelines to keep their families afloat. “The Russian invasion has spurred a lot of people to pull up and start building new businesses,” said Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, which has become a locus for people fleeing the war-torn east.
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Ukraine's overseas creditors have backed its request for a two-year freeze on payments on almost $20 billion in international bonds, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday, a move that will allow the war-torn country to avoid a debt default, Reuters reported. With no sign of peace or a ceasefire on the horizon nearly six months after Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24, bondholders have agreed to postpone sovereign interest and capital payments for 13 Ukrainian sovereign bonds maturing between 2022 and 2033.
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Ukraine has formally requested new assistance from the International Monetary Fund, seeking funds to help weather a severe wartime recession and a large cash shortfall, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The government submitted a proposal for an IMF program on Friday, it said. Ukraine added that it expects to receive help by November or December but didn’t say how much it is requesting.
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Ukraine's creditors vote this week on a government proposal to defer payments on the war-torn country's international bonds for 24 months as Kyiv hopes to swerve a $20 billion messy default, Reuters reported. Bondholders have until 5 p.m. New York time (2100 GMT) on Tuesday to decide whether to back or vote down the proposal by Ukraine's government, which faces a $5 billion monthly financing gap and liquidity pressures following Russia's invasion on Feb. 24. Time is precious: the country has a $1 billion bond maturing on Sept. 1.
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Ukraine is fighting for its survival and is desperate for cash, but that isn’t deterring London hedge-fund manager Richard Deitz from demanding money back from an ill-fated investment there, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Deitz’s VR Capital has a long history of making money in countries going through upheaval. His fund paid $123 million in 2019 to buy distressed loans issued by state-owned Ukrainian Railways, hoping they could work out a repayment and get a double-digit return.
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Ukraine’s state-run energy company NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy said it is still trying to negotiate a deal with holders of around $1.4 billion of its bonds after the government forced it to miss a deadline on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. The company will “urgently” present a new plan for bondholders, it said in an emailed statement. Naftogaz on Tuesday said it’s on track to default as a grace period to redeem $335 million of bonds due last week expired.
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Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements Friday to reopen blockaded Ukrainian ports and allow grain exports to begin to flow, Axios reported. Ukraine is one of the world's top exporters of wheat, sunflower oil and other agricultural products. With those exports almost entirely blocked due to Russia's Black Sea blockade, the food crisis plaguing countries in Africa and elsewhere has deepened. The deal, which was brokered by the UN with the help of Turkey, would be in place for 120 days and can be renewed, UN officials said.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki agreed on Tuesday to work together to tackle rising prices of food and energy, as well as volatility in currency markets, exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. They said that the war had raised exchange rate volatility, which could pose adverse implications for economic and financial stability, and pledged to cooperate "as appropriate" on currency issues.
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An international conference to support Ukraine after the devastating Russian invasion has outlined a series of principles to steer Kyiv's recovery and condemned Moscow's actions, Reuters reported. Representatives from more than 40 countries and international organisations like the European Investment Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signed up to the Lugano Declaration at the two-day conference in Switzerland.
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Leading economic powers conferred by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday as they underscored their commitment to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” with plans to pursue a price cap on Russian oil, raise tariffs on Russian goods and impose other new sanctions, the Associated Press reported. In addition, the U.S. was preparing to announce the purchase of an advanced surface-to-air missile system for Kyiv to help Ukraine fight back against Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
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