KIEV, Oct. 21 – The International Monetary Fund is concerned over the adoption by Parliament of a bill on a rise in the living wage and the minimum wage, IMF Mission Chief to Ukraine Ceyla Pazarbasioglu said while meeting with Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn in Kiev on Wednesday.

KIEV, Oct. 20 – Ukraine wishes to gain consent from the International Monetary Fund on the provision of a loan if such a necessity arises, said Volodymyr Stelmakh, head of the National Bank of Ukraine.

KIEV, Oct. 21 – The majority of individuals' deposits in Ukraine is under the ceiling refund for individuals' defaulted bank accounts, according to the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Volodymyr Stelmakh.

KIEV, Oct. 22 - The currency reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine fell by 7.7% in October (by $2.9 billion), reaching $34.6 billion, President Viktor Yushchenko told reporters on Tuesday.

The bank reserves will be enough to repay $8.8 billion worth of foreign debts of banks and companies in the fourth quarter of this year, but their replenishment using an IMF loan will have a psychological effect on the market, said the president.

KIEV, Oct. 22 – Increases in excise duties on oil products and rental payments for gas subsequently sold to commercial companies are needed to diversify the revenue side of the state budget in conditions of financial crisis, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

KIEV, Oct. 22 – The hryvnia lost more ground against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, forcing the National Bank of Ukraine to spend an estimated $100 million on the forex market to prevent its further slide.

KIEV, Oct. 22 – The Regions Party, Ukraine’s largest opposition group, on Wednesday ruled out support for an economic rescue package drafted by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, pledging to focus instead on its own “anti-crisis program.”

KIEV, Oct. 22 – Real GDP growth in Ukraine in 2008 could slow to 4.55%, down from 6.8% expected in 2007, according to an October analytical review of the Standard & Poor's international rating agency.

KAZAN, Oct. 22 – The shareholder dispute involving Ukraine’s biggest oil refinery has resulted in Russia's Tatneft not currently delivering oil to UkrTatNafta (based in Kremenchuk, Poltava region), Tatneft press secretary Rustam Rafikov told Interfax.

KIEV, Oct. 20 ??“ The international non-governmental network, Yalta European Strategy, says that 2011 is the best year for Ukraine to apply for membership in the European Union.