Page 20 - Tim Ash News Today

By Marc Jones

LONDON — The Taliban’s rapid advance L1N2PK073 towards Kabul is not only causing concern about Afghanistan’s future but also about the impact on other…

The Taliban's rapid advance towards Kabul is not only causing concern about Afghanistan's future but also about the impact on other countries in the region and their economies.

Iran and then Iraq lie to the west of Afghanistan. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are to the north. But the immediate focus for financial markets and investors is Pakistan to the east. Pakistan has a large public debt, a sizeable equity market and is dependent on a $6-billion IMF programme. The prospect of years of violence and waves of refugees will add pressure to its fiscal repair plans.

Turkey’s lira hit its highest levels against the dollar in a month as some investors bet U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might resolve a spat over Russian missiles at a meeting on Monday.

Turkey’s lira hit its highest levels against the dollar in a month as some investors bet U.S. President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might resolve a spat over Russian missiles at a meeting on Monday.

Turkey’s lira extended a record low on Friday even after consumer price inflation slowed for the first time in eight months and the central bank pledged tight monetary policy.

(Adds detail, analyst comment) ST PETERSBURG, June 3 (Reuters) - Russia’s National Wealth Fund (NWF) will sell off all its U.S. dollar assets, increasing the share of its holdings in euros, Chinese yuan and gold, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday, with the changes expected within a month. Russia has gradually reduced its dollar holdings since the imposition of Western sanctions following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, and has sought to partially decouple from the West...

Turkey’s lira plunged to fresh record lows against the dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said interest rates must be lowered in July or August.

Belarus government bonds tumbled back to the lows of last year's political crisis on Monday, after authorities forced an airliner to land on Sunday, arresting a journalist on board and drawing condemnation from Europe and the United States.