Ukraine wins IMF approval for $17.5 billion to rescue economy

``The financing offers a lifeline to an economy that the government expects to shrink as much as 11.9 percent this year, as the conflict in the eastern part of the country hobbles its industrial capacity. The funding, which replaces a two-year package from last April, also marks a deepening of the IMF's involvement in the worst standoff in Europe since the end of the Cold War.'' -- It will be interesting to see whether the rump-Ukraine survives the backlash to the austerity of this IMF intervention...