TIGHTER LIMITS ON DOLLAR TRANSACTIONS IN RUSSIA.

From November 1 no retail stores will be allowed to accept dollars in Russia, completing the transition to an exclusively ruble-based domestic retail system. In 1995, 8 percent of retail trade was in dollars. That had dropped to one percent by 1997 as a result of increasing restrictions on the hard currency shops. However, Russian citizens will still be allowed to hold dollars, and to exchange them freely for rubles for savings and foreign travel. In the first half of this year Russians exchanged about 20 percent of their income into dollars — despite the fact that inflation has dropped to 13 percent a year. (Rossiiskaya gazeta, September 23)

Noisy and Nasty.