IN BRIEF (Page 6)

Central bank drains money

The central bank drained money from the market this week due to easing liquidity strain. From Monday through Friday, the People's Bank of China pumped 375 billion yuan ($56.47 billion) into the money market via seven-day reverse repos. But, taking into account reverse repos that have matured, the central bank effectively withdrew 235 billion yuan. China's tight liquidity has been greatly eased. The benchmark overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate, known as Shibor, witnessed a weeklong falling streak.

Yuan strengthens against dollar