INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's Central Bank announced Friday it was cutting its key interest rate, which had been hiked after troops were sent into Ukraine,
saying risks to financial stability had "ceased to increase" for now.The Feb
24 military operation triggered a litany of Western sanctions on Moscow, sending the ruble into free-fall and accelerating already high
from 20 to 17% on Monday and could be further cut at future meetings."Financial stability risks are still present but have ceased to
"steady inflow of funds to fixed-term deposits" and a "noticeable slowdown in the current price growth rates."It added, however, that
external conditions for the Russian economy are "still challenging" and "considerably constraining economic activity."The next Central Bank
meeting is scheduled to take place on April 29.To aid recovery, the Russian government pledged the equivalent of $10 billion to buy up
shares of Russian companies and introduced measures to stem the flight of foreign capital.The Central Bank appears "confident that the most
acute phase of the economic crisis has now passed," said Liam Peach, emerging Europe economist at Capital Economics.The bank's "capital
controls and other measures, prevented a major and destabilizing bank run," Peach said.
