Paulson Changes Bailout Plan’s Approach
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced profound changes to how the $700 billion rescue plan will be implemented after essentially admitting that financial institutions are holding on to the cash supplied by the Fed rather than feeding it into the system as intended. More
Click here for a summary of the proposed changes.
Pound Hits Six-Year Low Against the Dollar
The pound fell to $1.4807 – it’s lowest rate since 2002 – as fears of a deep recession in the UK grew in the wake of recent a Bank of England forecast. More
US Jobless Claims Reach Seven-Year High
The number of people seeking new unemployment benefits increased by 32,000 and is now pegged at 516,000 after being seasonally-adjusted. This is the highest level since immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 and were much higher than predicted. More
Germany’s Economy Officially in a Recession
Government figures released today indicate that Germany’s economy shrunk by 0.5 percent for the most recent quarter – this follows a 0.4 percent contraction for the previous quarter tipping Europe’s largest economy into the textbook definition of a recession. More
US Trade Imbalance Declines 4.4 Percent
The US trade imbalance fell by 4.4 percent to $56.5 billion. The unprecedented fall in the price of crude oil was largely responsible for the reduction which led to fewer imports. More
Japan Pledges $100 Billion to the IMF
Japan has pledged $100 billion to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that the IMF has the funds necessary to provide capital to emerging economies suffering in the face of the global financial crisis. More
