Category: Other

PARIS, September 30, 2008 (AFP) – As the shockwave from the US financial meltdown battered Europe on Tuesday, governments scrambled to shore up fragile banks and restore confidence to flighty stock markets. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 In Paris, President Nicolas Sarkozy held a […]

NEW YORK, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – Global markets panicked Monday after US lawmakers rejected a 700-billion-dollar rescue of the financial system, raising the prospect of deeper financial turmoil. Wall Street blue-chip stocks suffered their worst single-day point decline after the US House of Representatives defeated the measure billed by President George W. Bush’s administration […]

WASHINGTON, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – Shocked, open-mouthed and fearful US lawmakers stood in the well of the House of Representatives Monday, dumbfounded by the magnitude of the chamber’s decision to kill a bid to save Wall Street. Democratic and Republican party leaders who had battled to pass a 700 billion dollar bailout bill, stared […]

LONDON, September 28, 2008 (AFP) – Spanish banking giant Santander said Monday it will take over the retail deposits and branches of Bradford & Bingley ahead of the expected nationalisation of the British bank. A spokesman for Santander, which owns British bank Abbey and is in the process of buying Alliance and Liecester, said: “The […]

BRUSSELS, September 28, 2008 (AFP) – The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments agreed Sunday to partially nationalise Fortis in a 11.2 billion euro bailout to keep it from becoming the latest victim of the US-born financial crisis. Top officials from the three countries and the European Central Bank hastily hammered out a rescue over the […]

WASHINGTON, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – US lawmakers Sunday posted on the Internet their hastily-crafted draft legislation to rescue the country’s troubled financial sector, saying the unusual step was taken in the spirit of openness. The full text of the bill, more than 100 pages, is available at the websites of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi […]

NEW DELHI, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – Russia on Monday offered its Cold War ally India the chance to jointly develop weapon systems in a bid to remain New Delhi’s main provider of weapons.With India increasingly looking elsewhere for its armament needs, visiting Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov presented a deal in which India would […]

BERLIN, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – Berlin has joined a consortium of banks to rescue a stricken property lender, the government said on Monday, in the latest state-sponsored European rescue of a casualty of the US financial crisis. Berlin has agreed to guarantee a 35-billion-euro (50-billion-dollar) credit line being provided to Hypo Real Estate by […]

WASHINGTON, September 29, 2008 (AFP) – US authorities said Monday they had facilitated a takeover of Wachovia’s banking operations by Citigroup Inc.in a deal that gives the government a stake in one of the nation’s biggest banks. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.made the announcement that further reshapes the troubled US banking sector saddled with heavy […]

WASHINGTON, September 28, 2008 (AFP) – The House of Representatives Saturday passed a civilian nuclear pact with India that lifts a three decade-old ban on civilian nuclear trade with India. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘act (space) lbo’ and send to 678 The agreement, passed by a 298-117 vote, […]

SINGAPORE, September 28, 2008 (AFP) – “Bailout” is back as a buzzword 11 years after the Asian financial crisis, but this time the tables are turned: the US is scrambling to rescue ailing banks while a healthy Asia watches. The ramparts built after the 1997-1998 Asian crisis helped blunt the impact of turbulence that ripped […]