Fed Will Buy Mortgage-Backed Assets
The US Federal Reserve announced that it will buy up to $600 billion worth of mortgage-backed assets including $100 billion from Fannie and Freddie Mac as the Fed in an attempt to provide more liquidity in the seized financial system. More
UK Rate Cut Likely
Mervyn King – Governor of the Bank of England – told the Treasury Select Committee earlier today that “I am in no doubt that the single most pressing challenge to domestic economic policy is to get the banking system to get lending in any normal sense. That is more important than anything else at present.” More
US Home Prices Fall by Record Amount
US home prices fell by a record 16.6 for the quarter compared to the same quarter one year ago. On average, home prices have deteriorated to prices recorded during the first quarter of 2004. More
OECD Predicts “Severe” Recession for UK
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicts that the UK will suffer a “severe” recession suggesting that economic output for next year will fall by 1.1% – the most of any G7 country. The report also predicts that unemployment will increase from 5.5% to 8% by the end of next year. More
European Markets Remain Positive
The large gains made in European markets yesterday were maintained – although at a more modest pace – in this morning’s trading session. Stock futures indicate that there could be some profit-taking in the North American exchanges after yesterday’s gains – as of 7:00 am EST, DOW futures were down 0.7 percent while S&P futures were down 0.6 percent. More
