LATVIA CLOSES LARGEST BANK.

Despite pledges that it would not do so lest itimpose economic hardship, the Latvian government closed the Banka Baltija May22, BNS reported. The bank had run up huge deficits that the governmentultimately concluded it could not cover. Whether the bank’s 500,000depositors will get some or all of their money back is not yet known.

European Union Holds Ukraine On Short Leash.