UKRAINE GETS GERMAN LOAN.

A consortium of German banks and Ukraine’s Export-Import Bank have signed an agreement on a DM 300 million loan to Ukraine for importing German industrial equipment. The amount, repayable in five years, is for the most part backed by German government guarantees. (Interfax-Ukraine, May 14) The loan is the latest in a recent wave of Western lending to support Ukraine’s reform programs.

Russia Warns Off Japanese Boats.