Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

The EU Council formally approved the accession of Lithuania to the euro area on 1 January 2015 and determined the euro conversion rate of the Lithuanian litas at 3.45280 to 1 (coinciding with the level of the current central rate of the litas in the exchange rate mechanism ERM II). The European Central Bank (ECB) and Lietuvos bankas agreed to monitor developments in the foreign exchange market of the Lithuanian litas against the euro until 1 January 2015.

A strategic realignment of a large number of states is currently taking place, despite the horrors ongoing in Southwest Asia and Ukraine, laying the basis to hope that, despite the impending trans-Atlantic financial collapse, the current civilizational crisis can be overcome. The core of this positive change is the emergence of an economic platform to develop the New Silk Road, which China has made a priority of its foreign policy.

The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved a US$250 million equivalent loan for the Innovative Access To Finance Project for Turkey whose main development objective is to improve access to longer-term Islamic finance and to factoring for small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) and export-oriented enterprises (EOEs).*

In a move welcomed by European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, and by European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Cioloş, the chief negotiators of the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA Group (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) concluded last week negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

Indonesia’s economic growth in 2014 is projected to be 5.2 percent, slightly lower than the 5.3 percent forecasted earlier in the year, says a new World Bank report.

Rising exports have contributed to Ethiopia’s double digit economic growth over the past decade, but the recent drop in prices has exposed underlying vulnerabilities in the country’s export structure. These gaps highlight the importance of strengthening competitiveness through diversification and value added exports, according to the World Bank’s latest Ethiopia Economic Update report.

Indonesia’s economic growth in 2014 is projected to be 5.2 percent, slightly lower than the 5.3 percent forecasted earlier in the year, says a new World Bank report.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, headed by Mbuyamu Matungulu, visited the Bahamas during July 14-18 as part of the regular consultation process with member countries on their economies. The team met with senior government officials and representatives of the private sector.