The head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Kirill Shevchenko, submitted his resignation to the President of Ukraine on Tuesday, the NBU said in a statement.
“For reasons related to health, which I cannot ignore in the future, I made a difficult decision for myself. I am leaving the post of head of the NBU. I have asked the President of Ukraine to accept my resignation,” Shevchenko is quoted as saying.
He thanked the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky for the trust shown and joint work for the benefit of the state in peacetime and wartime, as well as the NBU team and colleagues from all over the financial market.
“From the first days at the NBU, I was, first of all, an anti-crisis manager and fulfilled my mission: I ensured the smooth operation of the financial system in the extremely difficult time of a full-scale war. The war became another difficult test for our team and me personally – and we passed it with dignity,” – said the head of the NBU.
According to him, the National Bank managed to ensure the smooth operation of the financial system, prevent panic in the foreign exchange market, stop a large-scale outflow of capital in order to protect reserves, keep inflation at an adequate level and “support the state budget, understanding the difficulties in attracting funds during the war.”
“Today, the NBU is indeed stronger than ever in its ability to meet challenges and overcome crises, it is worthy of being tested by war. And it retains its ability to be the basis of post-war economic recovery and direct the entire financial sector to this,” Shevchenko stressed.
He said he was handing over the banking system to a strong, capitalized, resilient banking system for those who would come after him.
“Until the relevant decisions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the dismissal and appointment of the head of the National Bank are made, the Board of the National Bank will continue to perform its functions and manage the activities of the National Bank in its current composition,” the message says.
As reported, the Rada appointed Shevchenko head of the NBU on July 16, 2020, before that he was the head of the board of the state-owned Ukrgasbank.
Earlier, on July 1, 2020, the head of the NBU, Yakov Smoliy, resigned due to political pressure.
Ukraine in January-August 2022 exported 20.2 million tons of main grain crops, which is a quarter less than in the same period in 2021, while foreign exchange earnings from their supplies decreased by 18% to $5.22 billion.
In terms of crops, 15.1 million tons of corn for $3.8 billion, 4.1 million tons of wheat for $1.2 billion and 0.8 million tons of barley for $0.2 billion were sold abroad in eight months of 2022, according to the website National Research Center “Institute of Agrarian Economics” on Tuesday.
The leading position in the ranking of the main importers of Ukrainian grains was retained by China, whose share in the total grain exports over this period amounted to 14.4% ($749 million). Significant parts of Ukrainian grain exports also fell on Romania (13.9%), Turkey (9.6%), Egypt (7.7%), Spain (7.0%), Poland (6.8%), the Netherlands (4.3%), Iran (3.1%) and Hungary (3.0%).
Together, the above countries bring almost 70% of the income from all exports of grain crops from Ukraine.
As reported with reference to the Ukrainian Agrarian Business Club (UCAB) association, Ukraine exported 6.9 million tons of agricultural products in September 2022 (+ 52% compared to August 2022) due to the resumption of shipping with food cargo from the three Black Sea ports of the country to under the Istanbul Grain Agreements. In terms of crops, 4.4 million tons of grain crops were supplied to foreign markets, of which 2.16 million tons of corn, 1.8 million tons of wheat and 440 thousand tons of barley.
Earlier, the association reported that in August Ukraine exported 4.6 million tons of agricultural products, in July – 3.0 million tons, in June – 2.7 million tons. According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, in May agricultural exports amounted to 1.74 million tons, in April – 0.96 million tons, in March – 0.33 million tons.
Prior to the full-scale Russian military invasion, Ukraine exported an average of 5-6 million tons of agricultural products per month, mainly through its maritime infrastructure in the Black Sea.
The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to three scientists – Frenchman Alan Aspe, American John Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger, the Nobel Committee announced on Tuesday.
The committee noted that physicists received the award for research in quantum mechanics, in particular for experiments with photons and discoveries in quantum informatics.
The latest statistics on the incidence of coronavirus in Belgium confirm scientific models about the onset of a new “wave” of COVID-19 by mid-October, the Sciensano Public Health Institute said.
Updated data from Sciensano released on Tuesday indicates a significant increase in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Last week, daily infections reached an average of 2823 cases, which means an increase of 26% compared to the previous one. During the same period, an average of 94 patients were hospitalized daily. This figure rose by 28% over the week.
The vast majority of cases (92.3%) are infected with a subvariant of the Omicron BA.5 strain. The number of new cases of the disease reached 306 per 100 thousand inhabitants in 14 days.
The average daily number of deaths from coronavirus has increased to almost four, a 42% increase from the previous week. Since the beginning of the pandemic in Belgium, 32,690 people have died from COVID-19.
In the meantime, in France, in connection with the increase in infections with the coronavirus, the issue of resuming the mandatory wearing of protective masks is being considered, Brigitte Autrans, chairman of the French Committee for the Monitoring of Sanitary Risks (Covars), said Tuesday on the RMC radio station.
“All indicators are growing: positive tests, the number of hospitalizations, visits to the emergency rooms of hospitals, and even an increase in hospitalizations in intensive care units is planned. That is, yes, this is the eighth” wave, “Professor Otran stated.
“We really need to wear masks,” she said.
Stock markets in Western Europe are actively rising during trading on Tuesday, following the US stock market and stock exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region (APR).
The composite index of the largest companies in the Stoxx Europe 600 region rose by 2.01% by 11:18 a.m. to 398.70 points.
The German DAX index rose by 2.25%, the French CAC 40 – by 2.7%, the British FTSE 100 – by 1.46%. The Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 gained 2.46% and 2.02% respectively.
American stock indices finished the first trading session of the fourth quarter with a steady growth, the rise of the Dow Jones Industrial Average was the highest since February, amounting to 2.7%.
Global markets are supported by hopes that incoming pessimistic statistics may force central banks to slow down the pace of tightening monetary policy, writes Trading Economics.
Statistical data, published on Monday, showed a decline in the index of business activity in the US manufacturing sector in September to the lowest level since May 2020. This was taken by the market as a signal that the tightening of the policy of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) is beginning to suppress economic activity, experts say.
The ISM Manufacturing Index fell to 50.9 last month from 52.8 a month earlier, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Analysts on average expected it to fall to 52.2 points, according to Trading Economics.
Shares of Credit Suisse Group AG rise in price by 4.5%, recovering from the fall the day before on concerns about the ability of the Swiss bank to restructure its business. At the same time, the head of Credit Suisse, Ulrich Körner, announced the stability of the bank’s finances.
Papers of the British Legal & General Group added 4.9%. The insurance company said it would continue to support pension fund clients hit by the sharp rise in interest rates.
The leading gainer among the components of the Stoxx Europe 600 index is British bakery chain Greggs PLC, which gained 9.3%. The shares of the Swiss manufacturer of vacuum equipment VAT Group AG (+6.9%) and the French IT company Atos SE (+6.8%) are also actively growing.
Ukraine will participate in the joint application of Spain and Portugal to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, reports The Times on Tuesday.
Under the move, which is believed to have been sanctioned by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the national governments of Spain and Portugal, the country will host one of the tournament’s groups.
The new partnership is to be officially announced by the football leaders of Spain and Portugal during a press conference at UEFA headquarters on Wednesday.
The proposal uses the idea that football can restore hope and peace. While security guarantees will be needed, by 2030 the Russian invasion is expected to end and the country’s recovery is well under way.
