Category:
Fear as Icelandic bank freezes British transactions
LONDON, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – British customers with accounts in the online arm of faltering Iceland’s second-biggest bank voiced alarm after it halted transactions. Icesave stopped British customers withdrawing or depositing money, it announced, as Icelandic authorities said they had taken control of the bank and the island’s financial sector teetered on the brink […]
Nationalisations and rescues stepped up in finance debacle
PARIS, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – The EU moved to increase support for big banks as the international finance chaos deepened Tuesday, with Russia setting up a huge rescue package for its banks and markets again panicking. Russia was also to negotiate a four billion euro (5.4 billion dollar) emergency loan to Iceland, which is […]
‘s Nano mini-car
GANDHINAGAR, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – India’s Tata Motors signed an agreement on Tuesday to secure a new home for its troubled Nano cheap car project in the business-friendly state of Gujarat. The move came after Ratan Tata, the group’s chairman, decided to abandon a nearly completed factory in communist-run West Bengal due to violent […]
Panicked Arab stock markets plunge
KUWAIT CITY, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – Shares plunged across the Arab world on Tuesday as panic over the global financial crisis gripped investors, with the market in oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia sinking by more than seven percent. The biggest loss was reported in Egypt, where the key index plummeted by more than 16 percent […]
Royal Bank of Scotland sees shares tumble by a third
LONDON, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – Royal Bank of Scotland shares dived by a third on Tuesday, accelerating its losses as Britain’s second biggest bank was hit by fresh concerns about the global financial crisis, dealers said.RBS shares sank to 99 pence in morning trade, showing a steep loss of 33.15 percent from the closing […]
‘s Lee discounts crisis fears as won plunges
SEOUL, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak called for calm Tuesday as the won plunged, saying the nation does not face a repeat of the 1997/98 financial crisis. “The current crisis facing the nation is wholly different from the foreign exchange crisis of 1997,” he told a cabinet meeting. “Excessive optimism […]
‘s central bank slashes interest rates
SYDNEY, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank slashed interest rates by one percent Tuesday amid fears of a global slowdown sparked by the US-based financial crisis.The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced its official cash rate to 6.0 percent, just a month after a 25 basis point cut marked the first downward movement in […]
Oil stays below 90 dollars
SINGAPORE, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – Crude oil prices remained below 90 dollars a barrel in Asia on Tuesday as deepening global financial turmoil and plunging stock markets raised fears about slowing demand for energy, dealers said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, rose 71 cents to 88.52 dollars after a […]
Fed to pay interest on statutory reserves, give printed money for nothing
WASHINGTON, October 6, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury, armed with new emergency powers, announced measures Monday to tackle a rapidly escalating financial crisis as panicked investors fled stock markets. The central bank and Treasury said they were studying the possibility of making unsecured loans in an effort to keep credit […]
‘s northern offensive
NEW DELHI, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – India criticised Sri Lanka in a rare intervention into the island’s internal affairs, saying civilian deaths during a military offensive against Tamil rebels were a cause of grave concern. The fall of Kilinochchi would be the biggest loss in 13 years for the Tigers. India’s National Security Advisor […]
Sri Lanka core inflation continues embarrassing climb
Oct 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s controversial ‘core’ inflation index, which is claimed to be more responsive to monetary action, continued its relentless upward climb even as headline inflation moderated amid tight policy. In an earlier era, in France, paper money ‘central bankers’ who pushed food commodity prices up, created high inflation and economic […]
Sri Lanka shares flat; speculators chase Maskeliya
Oct 06, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended almost flat Monday, with small investors chasing Maskeliya Plantations on speculation of a takeover, brokers said. The indices ended mixed with Sri Lanka Telecom going up 25 cents being the main reason for the Milanka to go up while other key shares remaining flat. To receive […]