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This is Money
Washington declared yesterday that it would partially nationalise Americas biggest banks to try to avert the meltdown of the US financial system.
White House buys into British bank rescue strategy
Top banks in continental Europe insisted Tuesday they did not require the capital offered in the globally co-ordinated state rescue plans which are likely to see governments taking stakes in some of the biggest US and UK banks.
European banks deny rush for capital
The Bank of Japan said it will offer lenders as many dollars as they want, joining European counterparts in attempting to lower borrowing costs in money markets and freeing up credit worldwide.
Bank of Japan Offers Unlimited Dollars to Banks
The costs for banks to borrow money from each other remained at highly elevated levels on Tuesday despite sweeping global government action to shore up the financial system. Stubbornly high interbank lending rates indicate persistent tensions in the money markets even though the US, UK and various European governments have pledged to inject capital directly into banks and guarantee many types of bank debt
Bank borrowing costs still high
UK inflation hit a 16-year high in September after energy companies and retailers passed on high prices to customers, but economists believe that it has now reached its peak.
Inflation's16-year high predicted to be peak
The City regulator has stepped up its scrutiny of leading life assurers amid concerns that crumbling investment markets are putting their solvency levels under pressure.
FSA to check life assurers for insolvency protection
The Government is considering a controversial U-turn that would allow Lloyds TSB to pay dividends to shareholders while still taking advantage of its 37bn bank bailout scheme.
Treasury mulls U-turn on Lloyds TSB dividends
Britains largest banks are urging the UK government to rethink the terms of its 37bn bank bail-out scheme as investors take fright at the requirement for the banks to stop paying dividends to shareholders. The governments condition on dividends has undermined the share prices of RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS the three key participants in the rescue making it more likely that the government will be forced to take up its full shareholding in the banks.
UK lenders in plea to lift dividends ban
Institutional shareholders are planning to take up some of their stock entitlements in the share placings at Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Lloyds TSB and Barclays.
Institutional shareholders may help prop up ailing banks
Shareholders who stumped up billions of pounds in rights issues for Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley are exploring potential legal action, claiming they invested on what they allege could be a "false prospectus".
Bank shareholders could launch legal action
Adam Applegarth, former chief executive of failed bank Northern Rock, and his co-directors will not be taken to court over their management failings, it was announced today.
Northern Rock chiefs to escape court action
The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for a government probe into the credit rating agencies, slamming them for their high ratings of the Icelandic banks "right up until a matter of days before they went into administration".
Councils demand ratings agency probe
The beleaguered Icelandic stock exchange plummeted by 77 per cent yesterday, following a three-day suspension of trading. The Icelandic index has lost 89 per cent of its value this year, making it the worst performing stock exchange globally.
Icelandic stock market crashes on reopening