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The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is poised to leave interest rates unchanged today as the latest economic data shows that the dual threats of recession and inflation persist.
Bank of England likely to hold interest rates as prices jump
Investors and experts have turned too pessimistic about the economy, according to one of the Government's leading advisers on the state of the mortgage market. The pendulum between fear and greed has swung too far, with most observers now expecting a recession which may not materialise, said David Miles, chief UK economist at Morgan Stanley.
Economy may be better than feared, says Government advisor
The US economy is facing negative headwinds stronger than those it experienced during the recession of the early 1990s, according to one of the country's leading central bankers. Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve, believes that those headwinds - a result of the continuing sub-prime crisis - have not subsided as had been hoped.
Boston Fed president makes a gloomy forecast
GMAC, the American financial services giant part-owned by US car manufacturer General Motors, is to axe 5,000 staff and close all of its retail mortgage offices as it continues its fight to cut costs amid the collapse of the US housing market.
GMAC to close mortgage offices and cut staff
Two former Credit Suisse brokers each face a $5 million fine and up to 20 years in jail after being charged with fraudulently selling complex US securities to clients in order to boost their commissions.
Ex-Credit Suisse brokers accused of subprime fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York attorney general's office is issuing subpoenas to several Bank of America Corp executives as the state broadens its probe into the bank's marketing of auction-rate securities, a person familiar with the investigation said on Wednesday.
NY subpoenas BofA execs over auction-rate debt
Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. will stop selling interest-rate swaps to government borrowers in the $2.6 trillion U.S. municipal bond market, which has been roiled by an antitrust probe and the near bankruptcy of Alabama's most- populous county.
JPMorgan, Facing Federal Probe, Exits Muni Interest-Rate Swaps
A first estimate of European companies ability to cope with their debt loads has shown that the number to default on riskier loans will quadruple by next June. The number of defaults on European leveraged loans will rise from 10 over the past year to 38 by June 2009, according to S&P.
Defaults soar on European leveraged loans
Barclays needs to raise as much as 7.5bn to counter potential losses from credit-related writedowns and deteriorating lending if it is to bring the bank's capital position in line with peers, according to analysts at Royal Bank of Scotland.
Barclays needs to raise 7.5bn, say RBS analysts
Several hedge funds face big financial losses after wrongly predicting that oil and gas prices would rise as a result of Hurricane Gustav slamming into the Gulf coast of the US earlier this week.
Hedge funds caught out as Hurricane Gustav fails to lift oil price
One of the world's best known hedge fund managers was humbled yesterday as New York-based Ospraie Management announced the closure of its flagship fund. Dwight Anderson, who is known as "Mr Commodities" and is credited with attracting the first ever institutional money to hedge funds, built Ospraie into the biggest commodities fund in the world.
Ospraie chief axes flagship hedge fund
The administrator to Betbrokers, the failed betting group whose board includes former Formula One team boss Eddie Jordan and City grandee Derek Tullett, is yet to establish whether funds deposited by punters were used in an abortive attempt to prop up the company.
Unclarity remains over Betbrokers funds