Latest Articles about Economics
Hard Times for Ukrainian Banks, Central Bank Chairman Under Fire
Ukraine’s banking system is teetering on the brink of disaster. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $16.4-billion loan (see EDM, November 12) has probably come too late either to restore trust in banks or to prevent the national currency, the hryvnya, from a free fall. Most... MORE
The Turkey-IMF Stand-By Accord: a Never-Ending Symphony?
The Turkish government’s handling of the economic crisis continues to draw criticism. Business leaders and investors have been insisting that urgent measures are needed to protect the economy. An expert from Moody’s maintained that without a new IMF program, Turkey could face recession in one... MORE
Competing Forecasts Cloud China’s Economic Conference
The annual Central Economic Work Conference organized by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will convene on December 8-10 in Beijing. Senior economic planners were in Beijing last week to attend a preliminary meeting that laid out an agenda for the discussion... MORE
Ukraine Recognizes Gas Debt, May Face Higher Price
Gazprom has threatened to more than double the gas price in 2009 if Ukraine fails to pay its debt for previous purchases by January 1. Ukraine’s energy inefficient industry might not survive such an increase amid the global economic crisis. Moreover, RosUkrEnergo may be retained... MORE
Beijing’s Stimulus Plan: Preemptive Crisis Management
China’s $586 billion (4 trillion yuan) stimulus package, which was announced before last weekend’s G20 Summit in Washington, has been hailed as indicative of Beijing’s commitment to stave off further bleeding from the global recession. World Bank Vice-President Justin Lin noted that the resuscitation effort... MORE
A New Ukrainian Russian Gas Confrontation
Just when the outlook for normalization in the Ukrainian-Russian gas relationship appeared on the horizon, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Gazprom head Alexei Miller have upset the gas cart.On November 20 Kommersant Daily reported that Medvedev and Miller threatened to charge Ukraine $400 per 1,000... MORE
Russia Says It May Abandon Nord Stream Pipeline – Part II
The Kremlin has warned that it might abandon the Nord Stream gas pipeline project on the Baltic seabed from Russia to Germany (see EDM, November 19). The warnings seem designed to line up wider European support for the project as well as to distract attention... MORE
Russia Says It May Abandon Nord Stream Pipeline and Switch to LNG
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned on November 12, and Gazprom Vice-President Aleksandr Medvedev echoed on November 18, that Russia might abandon the project to lay a gas pipeline, Nord Stream, on the Baltic seabed to Germany. Instead, Putin and Medvedev asserted, Russia could switch... MORE
China Cautious Toward G-20 Summit
According to Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang, Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the G20 Economic Summit to be held in Washington DC on November 15. At a press conference on November 4, Spokesperson Qin announced that President Hu has accepted President George W.... MORE
Azerbaijan-Georgia Corridor: Growing Transit Volumes Bolster Security
Russia’s invasion of Georgia severely disrupted the operation of the energy transit corridor during August and September, causing revenue losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars to Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the oil and gas companies. Physical damage to the corridor, however, turned out to... MORE