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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Real Man who wrote (398721)	12/23/2009 11:51:41 AM
From: Giordano Bruno	Respond to of 436258

And on Christmas Eve :( The International Monetary Fund has turned down recession-battered Ukraine’s plea for a $2bn emergency loan before the New Year, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday citing his country’s failure to adopt a fiscally prudent 2010 budget and muster political consensus ahead of a hotly contested presidential election. But officials said the financially-stretched government had other last minute options that could allow it to squeeze through in coming months, covering natural gas import bills to Russia’s Gazprom, as well as citizens’ pensions and wages. Ihor Umansky, the Ukrainian finance minister, said fund officials could negotiations talks early next year, but added: “It will be impossible before the end of the year” to receive a fresh IMF disbursement. The IMF was not immediately available for comment. It provided $11bn in aid this year to keep Kiev financially afloat amid a 15 per cent drop in gross domestic product, but froze assistance in November due to lack of reforms and political infighting. Kiev’s political leaders are bitterly divided, with Viktor Yushchenko, president, Yulia Tymoshenko, prime minister, and ex-premier Viktor Yanukovich all campaigning for a January 17 presidential election. The political temperature is not expected to cool down until after a second round runoff is held in February. Without fresh cash, Ukrainian officials have said they could struggle to cover Russian gas import bills in coming months. The scenario could spark a repeat of last January’s standoff with Russia that disrupted European supplies. Government officials have also recently warned that escalation of their country’s financial woes could “spill-over” into other regions. European banks hold a 40 per cent market share in Ukraine. An advisor to Ms Tymoshenko told the Financial Times on Wednesday that her government is in “a really tough situation,” but still could manoeuvre to meet financial obligations. Alexander Ginzburg said the Fund’s board could in a decision on Wednesday sanction Kiev’s central bank to transfer into government accounts billions of dollars from its reserves that were built up with IMF funds this year. “The cash supply could come out of the central bank if the IMF agrees to lower the floor for its reserves,” Mr Ginzburg added. With nearly $27bn in central bank reserves, and Ukraine’s currency stabilized after a more than 40 per cent drop in late 2008, Mr Ginzburg said there is “enough to put the money on the table.” But “political rivalries at play” ahead of the presidential election could block this option. Heavily influenced by Ms Tymoshenko’s opponents, the central bank could refuse to assist the government. Such an outcome would be the most recent of many attempts this year to cash-starve Ms Tymoshenko’s government, thereby “sabotaging her presidential candidacy.” Borrowing from Russian banks is another option, but it could be more expensive and come with political strings attached. Moreover, it would not be “easy to borrow from Russian banks at this stage,” Mr Ginzburg said. “The timing is very tight with the holidays.”