Almaty, Kazakhstan, November 17, 2009 - IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will provide long-term capital support to JSC ATFBank with a $60 million subordinated loan, helping promote access to finance for small and medium enterprises in Kazakhstan.

MUMBAI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) said steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has pulled out of a project to jointly develop an oil block in Kazakhstan, but their partnerships in other blocks were intact.

Kazakhstan is to launch its first international bond in a decade to bolster its public finances and set a benchmark for companies to return to the capital markets.

The Federal Reserve is monitoring currency markets "closely" and will conduct policy in a way that will "help ensure that the dollar is strong", Ben Bernanke said on Monday in rare comments on the US currency.

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama held much-anticipated talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on Tuesday, with trade friction, the yuan currency and diplomatic headaches such as Iran and North Korea high on the agenda.

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ASTANA, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan may limit foreign ownership of banks and other companies in the financial sector, central bank chairman Grogiry Marchenko said on Tuesday.

ABU DHABI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi investment vehicle Mubadala and ConocoPhillips' (COP.N) offshore oilfield in Kazakhstan may hold as much as 3 billion barrels of crude in reserves, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.

China's central bank on Wednesday acknowledged the case for a stronger renminbi, days ahead of the arrival in Beijing of US president Barack Obama for talks expected to highlight mounting international concern over Chinese currency policy.

ALMATY. Nov 11 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan central bank's chairman Grigory Marchenko said on Wednesday he believed the fundamentals were right for Kazakhstan's national currency to appreciate.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 leading nations launched a framework to promote a better balanced global economy on Saturday, but the meeting was overshadowed by a dispute about a global tax on financial transactions and little progress on financing efforts to reduce global warming.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A broad U.S. stocks rally sent the Dow industrials to a 13-month high on Monday, after the Group of 20 pledged to keep aid flowing to the world economy, strengthening investors' desire for risk.

FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - General Motors' Opel unit put the best face on its parent's stunning decision to reverse course and keep its European arm rather than sell it to a group led by Canada's Magna.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday expressed growing confidence that an economic recovery was building, even as it stuck to its commitment to keep borrowing costs near zero for "an extended period."

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's two largest retail lenders are to get another 31 billion pounds from the government and have agreed to sell hundreds of branches and key businesses to appease EU competition concerns over state aid.