President Nicolas Sarkozy repeated on Monday a pledge to protect French bank deposits from any losses in the financial market crisis, and called a meeting of bank and insurance bosses to discuss the situation. "We must not give way in the face of destabilisation. We have to support the banks," he told a joint news
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U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday the $700 billion financial bailout package addresses the root cause of the financial crisis and will help it from spreading throughout the economy. In a brief statement after lawmakers agreed on a plan for the bailout package, Bush praised the deal, calling it a "bold bill that
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BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Monday it was confident that measures by the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg states in a rescue of financial services group Fortis would comply with EU competition rules. It also said the presence of European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet at weekend moves by the Benelux
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European central banks joined Asian counterparts in pumping more cash into paralysed money markets on Monday, but commercial banks preferred to hoard cash rather than lend to each other as the financial crisis spread in Europe. With the end of the financial quarter compounding liquidity tensions, the European Central Bank announced it would make an
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Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will have to jointly face the problem of water shortage on the island when the Cyprus problem is solved, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias has said. Invited to comment on a press report according to which during the ongoing negotiations for a Cyprus solution the issue of transporting water from Turkey
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Citi analysts forecast rate reductions The weekend’s events have highlighted European fragility in the financial crisis, note Citigroup analysts. In the UK, the eighth biggest mortgage lender (in terms of mortgage lending in 2007) has been nationalised. In all, four of the top 10 mortgage lenders have now been nationalised or required an emergency rescue
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A swathe of bank rescue deals took shape around Europe on Monday and fear gripped financial markets before a U.S. lawmaker vote to push through a $700 billion fund to deal with toxic debt. Investors hung on every twist and turn in Washington as central banks in Asia and Europe pumped cash into the system
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Oil fell more than $3 a barrel on Monday, pressured by gains in the U.S. dollar as well as signs the financial crisis is spreading beyond the United States to Europe. Benelux governments stepped in to rescue Belgian-Dutch banking group Fortis and Britain nationalised lender Bradford & Bingley. In Washington, Congress prepared to vote on
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European shares were down sharply by midday as nationalisations in Belgium and the UK and liquidity worries hurt bank stocks, more than offsetting optimism generated by prospects of approval for the United States' $700 billion bailout plan for its banks. By 1114 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 3.4 percent
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President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, departed Monday for Strasbourg, where the next day he will address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). In statements before departing for France, President Christofias described the Council of Europe (CoE) as a very important regional organization, which defends human rights and added that
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