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Naci Agbal, Turkey’s new central bank governor, began his career as a financial inspector three decades ago. He hopes such devotion to the rules will see him – and the economy – through one of the trickiest turnaround jobs in emerging markets. NEWSMAKER-Back-to-basics Agbal hopes this time is different at Turkey’s central bank | Nasdaq
China provided medium-term funds to lenders on Thursday, giving banks some relief after its cash drainage last month triggered the country’s worst liquidity squeeze since 2015. China Rolls Over $31 Billion in Medium-Term Loans to Banks – Bloomberg
Zambia became the second country in the world to increase its benchmark interest rate this year as it seeks to bring down “spiraling” inflation that’s at a five-year high. Zambia Central Bank Hikes Rate to Fight Surging Inflation – Bloomberg
Weakness in both the dollar and euro is posing a dilemma for investors about which is the best source of funding for emerging-market carry trades. On balance, the U.S. currency is still first choice. Carry Traders Clash Over Which Major Currency Has Most to Lose – Bloomberg
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Wednesday her office has sued to shut down Coinseed, a cryptocurrency-trading app that prosecutors allege ignored securities laws and defrauded thousands of investors. NY AG sues to shut down crypto app Coinseed alleging it sold a worthless currency and defrauded investors (msn.com)
Economist Nouriel Roubini, known as “Dr. Doom” for his pessimistic market views, said “the Flinstones had a better monetary system than bitcoin” in an interview with Bloomberg Wednesday morning. The NYU professor argued bitcoin and other digital tokens shouldn’t even be considered currencies because they lack many of the basic traits currencies must possess. ‘Dr. Doom’ economist Nouriel Roubini says ‘the Flintstones had a better monetary system than bitcoin’ and the token should not be considered a currency (msn.com)
| Currency pairs | Exchange Rate as of 4:15 pm 16 February 2021(1) | As of 2:10 am EST Exchange Rate as of 18 February 2021(2)(3) | |
| AUD/USD | 0.7762 | 0.7754 | |
| USD/CAD | 1.2694 | 1.2699 | |
| USD/CNY | 6.4567 | 6.4505 | |
| EUR/USD | 1.2126 | 1.2044 | |
| USD/INR | 72.6000 | 72.7270 | |
| GBP/USD | 1.3855 | 1.3851 | |
| USD/JPY | 104.9400 | 105.9000 | |
| USD/MXN | 19.9300 | 20.2248 | |
| USD/DKK | 6.1325 | 6.1742 | |
| USD/NOK | 8.4558 | 8.4960 | |
| BTC/USD | 48,358.6000 | ||
| ETH/USD | 1,700.6400 |
Alton Drew 