Some European central banks have reportedly called on Greek bank subsidiaries operating in their jurisdiction to cut their exposure to Greek assets to avoid fallout should the country go into default. The central banks of Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have demanded Greek banks’ subsidiaries minimize their exposure to Greek bon [...]

The laws of the global economy should be written by the United States and not by the likes of China according to President Obama, as concern over China's influence is growing. Washington hopes a Pacific free trade pact will curb Beijing's investment bank. "When 95 percent of our potential customers live abroad, we must be sure that we are writing the rules for the global economy, not a country [...]

The BRICS New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), both seen as alternatives to US – led institutions, will not compete, but rather complement each other, said the head of the Central Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina. Nabiullina made the statement Thursday in Washington where she is attending the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Ban [...]

A third of higher income Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, even when they earn $75,000 a year because they would rather spend money on eating out and experiences than save money for retirement, according to a new survey. In a poll of 519 households earning $75,000 or more, nearly a third of them live paycheck-to-paycheck, at least some of the time, SunTrust Bank found. [...]

Rogue investors who ignored the negative hype about Russia, are smiling from ear to ear after the ruble gained about 6 percent this week. The ruble surged 6 percent this past week, opening Monday at 56.55 and closing at 53.5 on the Moscow Exchange on Friday. In the last month alone, the ruble has appreciated by more than 20 percent. [...]

The Russian ruble has hit 55.3 to the dollar Monday, its highest value this year. The currency has become the best performer during the first three months of the year, after it finished 2014 as one of the biggest losers. The ruble gained above one percent against the US dollar, standing at 55.3 and at 60.8 to the euro at the closing on Moscow Exchange on Monday. [...]

Athens is currently trying to negotiate a new bailout deal with its Troika of creditors, but if that falls "Plan B" could reportedly involve getting rid of the euro and cutting off its banking system from the European Central Bank. [...]

The $17.5 billion loan approved by the IMF won't save Ukraine from hopeless poverty; instead, it will inflict a blow on the country's population already living on the breadline, said the ex-head of the National Bank of Ukraine Sergei Arbuzov. None of the options proposed by the IMF would improve the economy, said Arbuzov to Izvestia, adding that the biggest mistake made by the government was wo [...]

The number of Americans aged 16 and older not participating in the labor force hit 92,898,000 in February, tying December's record, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the longer trend, the labor force participation rate was between 62.9 percent and 62.7 percent from April 2014 through February, and has been hovering around 62.9 percent or lower in 13 of the [...]

A Polish government spokesperson has criticized the deputy prime minister's remark on Ukraine‘s disintegrating economy, calling it “unfair.” Janusz Piechocinski painted a black scenario for the country gripped by hyperinflation and currency plunge. [...]

A curious thing happened today. To quiet protests over food, president Petro Poroshenko ordered the minister of the food reserve to fill the shelves of stores with flour, sugar, canned meat, and buckwheat from the reserve. Well guess what? There was no food in the reserve. It has either been looted (like the vanishing gold), or it was fed to the army. [...]

Ukrainian supermarkets have imposed rationing of basic products after the drastic fall in the value of the hryvnia. The currency has lost 70 percent of its value causing people to stockpile food and buy electronics as a hedge. Restrictions apply for goods such as cooking oil, flour and sugar, Ukraine’s news agency UNN reports Wednesday. [...]

Ukraine has agreed to increase the cost of gas to consumer by 280 percent, and 66 percent for heating, as part of the IMF terms for getting extra financial aid, says Valery Gontareva the head of the National Bank of Ukraine. "From now on, in accordance with our joint program with the IMF, the tariffs will see rather a sharp increase of 280 percent for gas and about 66 percent for heat," said Go [...]

Tuesday protests outside the president's offices in Kiev are just a part of a bigger picture of discontent grasping Ukraine, journalist Neil Clark told RT. With the economy worsening, former Maidan allies are now angered and splitting up. Is this a small pocket of discontent or are we seeing something wider here? [...]

The hryvnia lost 34 percent against the US dollar after the head of the central bank signaled it can no longer support the currency with regular interventions and will allow greater fluctuations. The hyrvnia hit a historic low of 24.5 per 1 USD. “Get used to market volatility," National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Governor Valery Gontareva told reporters in Kiev on Thursday. [...]

The Russian government has submitted a bill to lawmakers to ratify the BRICS bank. The New Development Bank will have assets of $100 billion from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and rival the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. [...]

Ukraine's GDP shrank by 7.5 percent from January till November 2014, as foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest level since 2009, and inflation jumped to 21 percent by November, admits the head of the Ukraine's National Bank, Valeriya Gontareva. The country’s foreign exchange reserves shrank to $9.9 billion, as Kiev gave Naftogaz an estimated $8.6 billion to buy gas and settle state gu [...]

A blogger gave a homeless guy $100 – and filmed an unexpected twist, as the man decided to help others with the money. The video went viral, and a crowdfunding campaign to get the homeless man back on his feet has raised over $94k and counting. The experiment began with Los Angeles-based video blogger Josh Paler Lin giving a homeless man named Thomas $100 with no strings attached. [...]

Even facing what under any circumstances is a perfect storm; President Putin delivered an extremely measured performance at his annual press conference and Q&A marathon. The perfect storm evolves in two fronts; an overt economic war – as in siege by sanctions - and a concerted, covert, shadow attack to the heart of the Russian economy. [...]

Direct trade between India and Russia in rough diamonds is a diplomacy gem which was a Russian initiative buttressed by some quick decision-making by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The matter has been under discussion through the diplomatic channels between the two countries for quite some time and came up in a brief discussion between visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi during th [...]

An overwhelming majority of Russians named President Vladimir Putin "€˜Man of the Year"when pollsters asked them to choose from among serving Russian politicians. The latest research conducted by an independent Russian pollster Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) showed that 68 percent of Russian citizens consider Putin worthy of the title. [...]

The BRICS Bank marks a major step to de-dollarization, and a new monetary system. It should replace the western-dominated “predatory casino scheme” that has contributed to world wars and “economic terrorism,” says former World Bank economist Peter Koenig. “A ‘BRICS system’ would offer a healthy alternative to the highly indebted and defunct dollar system, where money is printed at [...]