| Russian rouble strengthens against dlr/euro basket
MOSCOW, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble strengthened 0.3 percent on Thursday against a dual currency basket made up of 0.6 U.S. dollars and 0.4 euros, which the central bank uses to guide its open market operations. The rouble strengthened to 29.57 to the basket from 29.66-29.67 in previous months. The rouble rate against the basket has been stable since early September 2006. Russia's central bank runs a managed float of the rouble, keeping it stable against the basket. "Obviously, the central bank has allowed the rouble to strengthen against the basket by about 0.1 roubles," said International Moscow Bank currency dealer Alexei Zaitsev. "Trading volumes have risen. We see large volumes on both MICEX and the interbank market," he added. The dollar trade volume at Moscow's MICEX currency exchange stood at $631.1 million at 0747 GMT.
Russia Cuts USD In Ruble Peg Basket
The Russian central bank has changed the composition of its operational currency basket from 60% USD and 40% EUR to 55% and 45% respectively. Analysts and market watchers are quick to point out this does not mean a change in the composition of Russia's official currency reserve which consists of roughly 50% USD, 40% Euro, and 8-10% GBP. The remainder is in JPY. Similarly, the announced decision has no impact on the so-called oil stabilisation fund (OSF) which has a composition of 40% USD and EUR, 10% GBP and RUB. The operational basket, with the announced changes effective today, is the one the central banks uses to peg the RUB against on a daily basis. Since the introduction of the currency basket in 2005 the central bank has gradually scaled back the weighting of the USD from the initial 90% to now 55%.
Mount Everest to replace Nepal king on currency note
The picture of Nepal's unpopular King Gyanendra will be replaced by that of Mount Everest on the Himalayan country's 10-rupee notes, the finance minister said Friday.The Cabinet picked the world's highest mountain over Lord Buddha on Thursday to replace the monarch's image. Officials had earlier suggested that currency notes carry the picture of Buddha, born a prince in Nepal more than 2,600 years ago. "We decided to go in for Sagarmatha instead of the Buddha because some Buddhist religious organizations were against having his picture on currency notes," Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat told Reuters. Sagarmatha, which means head of the sea, is the Nepali name for the world's highest peak that stands at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet). The move to remove Gyanendra's picture comes months after he was stripped of nearly all his powers following mass protests last year that ended nearly 15 months of his absolute rule.
Raising a red flag
In its own understated way, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in Washington has waved a red flag in front of the new Congress and urged it to pay attention to the rise of China, Islamist militancy and other troubles in Asia.
The CRS warns, in a fresh report, that the preoccupation with Iraq and the Middle East means the United States "is not sufficiently focused on the Asia-Pacific at a critical point in the evolution of what may prove to be a new era."
Failure to attend to a less-than-peaceful rise of China, tensions over Taiwan and conflict on the Korean Peninsula, the report contends, "has the potential to embroil the United States in a large-scale war that could be very costly in terms of lives, wealth, power and prestige." Moreover, terrorist groups in Southeast and South Asia are "a key source of instability, a threat to U.S.
GLOBAL MARKETS-G7 nerves weigh on forex, oil breaks $60
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Uncertainty on whether G7 finance chiefs will act to tackle yen weakness kept currency trading on edge on Friday, while oil peeped above $60 and stock upgrades lifted share prices. The yen's slide to around 21-year lows on a trade-weighted basis is looming over a two-day meeting of the Group of Seven industrial nations, starting on Friday in Essen, Germany. European policymakers, worried about their own exports, want the group to address what they see as currency imbalances, but U.S. and Japanese officials have played down the issue. Most analysts expect the G7 to take no united action on the yen, but the twists and turns of pre-meeting comments have kept markets nervous. G7 jitters prompted some brief yen buying in early European trade, but the Japanese currency stayed mainly on the defensive.
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