Category: World

GENEVA, Aug 19, 2007 (AFP) – Swiss central bank chief Jean-Pierre Roth sharply criticised the US economic system in an interview published Sunday, after the home loans crisis that caused turmoil on world financial markets.“Something unbelievable happened,” Roth said in an interview in the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. The chairman of the Swiss National […]

LONDON, Aug 19, 2007 (AFP) – The world’s banks have found themselves in the eye of the financial storm lashing world markets as analysts struggle to pinpoint their exposure to the slumping US housing sector. Markets in Europe and the United States staged a rebound on Friday, after a week of turmoil, as the US […]

NEW YORK, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) – Credit fears have played havoc with Wall Street stock portfolios and US investors could suffer more bruises from fresh upheavals sweeping world markets in the week ahead, despite an emergency rate cut. Confidence was in short supply on Wall Street this past week as investors sold off stocks […]

NEW YORK, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar tumbled against the yen Thursday, but notched up gains against the euro and the British pound as investors unwound risky “carry trades” that had previously depressed the Japanese currency.Analysts said the Japanese currency’s fortunes had risen as some speculators unwound so-called carry trades, in which investors […]

SINGAPORE, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) – Singapore’s central bank said the domestic money and foreign exchange markets have been orderly despite the global turmoil sparked by a crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage sector. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a statement issued late Thursday it has been “closely monitoring” developments in the […]

TOKYO, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) – Credit fears unleashed fresh turbulence on Asian stock markets Friday as Tokyo spiralled lower and other bourses in the region struggled to find a floor a day after one of the worst routs in recent years.A late recovery overnight on Wall Street helped shares to open higher in Sydney, […]

CARACAS, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) – President Hugo Chavez late Wednesday proposed sweeping changes to Venezuela’s constitution to remove presidential term limits and consolidate his vision of “21st Century Socialism”.Addressing a National Assembly stacked with loyalists, the leftist leader offered a reform plan that would also end autonomy of the country’s central bank and put […]

TOKYO, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) – The Group of Seven industrialised nations have begun discussing measures to cope with plunging stock markets and wild foreign exchange fluctuations caused by US credit turmoil, a press report said Friday.Japan’s finance ministry was unable to confirm or deny the report. Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the […]

WASHINGTON, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) – The US Federal Reserve said Friday it had cut its discount window rate by 50 basis points to 5.75 percent citing “increased uncertainty” in the financial markets.The Fed moved to lower the overnight interest rate it charges members banks for loans in a bid to help soothe the US […]

WASHINGTON, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday signalled opposition to any immediate expansion of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, ahead of upcoming summit talks on the sensitive issue. “Our view right now is that we would like to focus on deepening reform within APEC before we look at expanding […]

LONDON, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) – The European Commission will investigate the role played by credit rating agencies in the recent crisis over subprime US home loans, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. “If the rating agencies believe this is going to be business as usual, they are very wrong,” an unnamed Commission official told […]

TOKYO, Aug 16, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar and euro fell sharply in Asian trade Thursday against the yen, sliding to four-month lows as investors ran for cover from turmoil on equity markets over US housing woes, dealers said. The stock market rout made investors shun risk and unwind their “carry trades” — borrowings in […]