Japan reveals $275bn package to support economy

Japan, being tagged as the number two in global economy is now being wrapped with fears over the financial crisis. To ensure economic stability, Japan has recently announced $275 billion package to support and maintain it economic status.

The economic package comes on the heels of an ¥11.7 trillion supplementary budget approved by Parliament. That plan included help for fishermen and farmers to deal with high fuel prices, and assistance for part-time workers to find better jobs.

As the global financial crisis began to unfold earlier this year, Japan's economy looked to be in good shape compared to other advanced nations, avoiding major bank failures and bailouts.

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Asian markets advance, South Korea rises to 10pc

Despite a moderate close in Thursday trading in Wall Street, Asian markets are reported to continue to advance, with South Korea gained of 10 percent on its stocks.



The Shanghai Composite Index was a touch higher after China cut interest rates for the third time in six weeks. After the market closed on Wednesday, the Chinese central bank announced a 0.27 percentage point cut in both the benchmark rate for one-year loans by
commercial banks, to 6.66 percent, and in the rate on one-year certificates of
deposit, to 3.60 percent, starting from Thursday. The cut was widely expected, as the Chinese central bank's part of a worldwide effort to aid the faltering global economy, but analysts doubted it would significantly ease the stock market's key concerns at the moment, especially slumping earnings growth at listed Chinese companies.

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After 5 year low, Wall Street Recovers!

Sounds good news to US investors! The Wall Street is reportedly rebounded from its record of five year low and negative tradings.

Short-term challenges include the initial read on economic growth in the third quarter, due out on Thursday. Economists expect an 0.5% rate of decline after GDP grew at a 2.2% annual rate in the second quarter.

Next week's presidential election and October jobs report are also big potential momentum changers.

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After Asia's record down, Wall Street sinks again

Asian stock markets are said to be in the forefront of losing its good trading standing, as it recently recorded lows on its stocks trading. Due to this, Wall Street is again sinking.

Financial ministers and central bank presidents of the world's seven leading industrialized nations, meeting in Tokyo, said yen volatility and the markets had their full attention.

"We are concerned about the recent excessive volatility in the exchange rate of the yen and its possible adverse implications for economic and financial stability," the Group of Seven said Monday in a statement.

The finance ministers and bankers said they would "cooperate where appropriate" to help stabilize world markets. They said they were monitoring the situation closely.

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On global slowdown fears, US stocks continue to sink

Us stocks fell about 421.18 points due to the struggles being faced by the global financial markets. The fall said to have continued despite efforts made by the government to rescue the banking system of the US government.

However, since the banking crisis erupted two months ago, lenders have pulled out from various types of unsecured lending and car loans in the US are now practically impossible to secure. The lack of credit in auto financing is estimated to cost Ford, General Motors and Chrysler at least 6 million new car sales by the end of the year.

Banking stocks also took a beating with Morgan Stanley falling 10 per cent while Goldman Sachs lost 7 per cent.

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Microsoft profits rise more than expected

US software giant Microsoft has beat expectations that it would likewise suffer from negative profits due to the global financial crisis. But none of the analysts expectations happened and it beats more than the analysts expectations.

"Our customers are asking how they can save money and do more with less," said Kevin Turner, the company's chief operating officer.

Like many technology firms, Microsoft has seen its share price plummet in recent months - down more than 40% this year.

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Forecast: UK economy is gloomy

As expected, global financial crisis likewise hit the economy of United Kingdom as expectations arise that UK economy is likely to sink into recession comes next year, according to the Bank of England Governor.

In its forecast, the NIESR predicted that Britain's economy would shrink by 0.9% in 2009, with consumer spending falling by 3.4%, business investment down by 3.8% and private housing investment 17.1% lower.

It also warned that if the government's £50bn banking bail-out did not succeed, the recession could be even deeper and longer.

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Major Management Changes Expected At Merrill Lynch

The departure of Peter Kraus, the bank's strategy head, is one of the major management changes that may arise at Merrill Lynch according to some people close to the firm.



In addition, sources close to Merrill Lynch told CNBC that McCann may no longer report to Thain directly, but may instead report to some interim executive.

The restructuring is designed to set in place the long-term management structure at Merrill Lynch, which will have to cut 5,000 or more jobs in order to make Bank of America's recent purchase of the investment bank feasible at $29 a share.

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Global jobless to top 200m, UN predicts

The UN labor agency predicted on Monday that the global financial crisis will add at least 200 million unemployed people. The rate is said to be the first time ever in a decade of record keeping of unemployment and employment rates.

The agency also factored in data from the United Nations and from countries that have produced recent statistics, he said.

"The estimate that we are now making is that as compared with January 2008 to December 2009 we are probably going to have about 20 million jobs lost, and this may be underestimated," Somavia said.

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Yahoo to draft cost-cutting plans

Even online services are likewise affected by the global financial crisis. In fact, one of the leading internet service provider, Yahoo, is already drafting a plan to cut its expenses.



Shares of Yahoo closed on Friday at $12.90, down 9 cents, on Nasdaq.

Yahoo also continues to weigh a combination with Time Warner's AOL, The Wall Street Journal reported. The two sides have started to discuss a value for AOL below the $8 billion to $10 billion that had previously been considered.

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GM trembles on merger plans with Chrysler

Rick Wagoner is running short of time and options to save General Motors and salvage his legacy as leader of the world's biggest automaker.

Wagoner also earned credit for negotiating a new contract last year with the United Automobile Workers union that reduced wages for new hires and created a trust to administer health care costs for retirees.

But shrinking GM has not been enough to counteract the effects of rising gas prices on sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles, and tightening lending standards for people who want to buy new vehicles.

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Asia stock markets fall

The pain of one is the pain of all. This happened when the famous Wall Street made a tremendous tumble on its stocks. Following its negative gain, all other powerful countries likewise experienced fall on its major stocks, including Asian stock markets.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Wednesday the economy will take some time to recover even if the credit markets return to normal soon.

"Stabilization of the financial markets is a critical first step, but even if they stabilize as we hope they will, broader economic recovery will not happen right away." he said.

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What's the drama behind $250bn banking deal?

Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase Chief Executive Officer met with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The two reportedly discussed the possible selling of some JP Morgan's shares to the government. Find out the drama behind the talks.

The terms, officials said, were devised so as not to be punitive. The rising dividend and the warrants are meant to give banks an incentive to raise private capital and buy out the government after a few years. Still, it took some cajoling.

Mr. Kovacevich of Wells Fargo objected that his bank, based in San Francisco, had avoided the mortgage-related woes of its Wall Street rivals. He said the investment could come at the expense of his shareholders.

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US stocks glide after crisis talk

Wall Street has recently recorded a fresh gain of its stocks of about 11 percent on Monday. The surge on US stocks was due to the investors initiative to welcome fresher moves to deal with the global financial crisis after the government's bail out plan was put in place.

In Washington President George W Bush said he was confident that the challenges which faced governments trying to curb the market turmoil could be overcome.

"We can work our way through these challenges and America will continue to work closely with the other nations to co-ordinate our response to this global financial crisis," he said.

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World leaders swear to fight economic crisis

Economic crisis does not only felt in the United Estates of America, it likewise hurt the economy of neighboring countries, especially in Europe countries. With the threats of economic downturn, World leaders vowed last Saturday to work hand on hand to fight economic crisis. As part of their plight, they also agreed to inject billions of cash to their banks to restore confidence to the fluttering financial system.

The government has started taking a number of steps to attack the crisis, Bush said Friday. These include helping homeowners to refinance into more affordable mortgages; cutting the target for the federal funds rate; unveiling a plan to support the market for commercial paper; and offering government insurance for money market mutual funds.

The plan will authorize the Treasury to buy bad mortgage-related investments from finance companies, unfreezing the credit markets by freeing up banks and finance firms to lend once again.
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US stocks plunge again

Despite steps made by policy makers in the US to defuse the financial crisis, global fear continued to threat the world market as it is near to global recession. Stock investors are again worried of their shares in the stock market, as the US stocks are seen falling again.

Still others say computerized trading, which has grown significantly in recent years, often kicks in later in the day, when certain thresholds are breached.

But whatever the reasons for the late-day plunges, what is driving the market down is a lack of confidence by investors, who are skeptical that the many measures taken by the government to rescue the financial system will work. Moreover, they worry that the government’s trotting out a new initiative every day or two is a sign that maybe the situation is worse than many thought.

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IBM profit tops forecasts; shares jump to 4 pc

Beating some financial analysts expectations, IBM affirmed its full-year profit outlook, sending its stock shares to 4 percent up, according to the IBM report on Wednesday as far as its preliminary third quarter earnings is concerned.



Analysts were looking for earnings of $2.01 per share on revenue of $26.5 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

"Our results demonstrate that the combination of a steady base of recurring revenue and profits, investments for growth in emerging markets, a range of products and services that deliver value to clients, and a strong and flexible financial foundation give IBM a competitive edge in good times and tough times," CEO Samuel Palmisano said in a statement.

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Morgan Stanley stock drops

Rumors are spreading that Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ may not anymore buy some of Morgan's stake as it has allegedly dropped for more than 20 percent. But Morgan denied the rumors and firmed that the deal between Mitsubishi and Morgan is already on track.

In the wake of the market meltdown, both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs asked the Federal Reserve last month to allow them to be classified as bank holding companies.

The Fed agreed to the request, which means the two firms are allowed to create commercial banking operations that can take deposits. This move should help Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs raise more capital.

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September consumer sharply drop, mastercard says

U.S. consumers and shoppers worried by shrinking bank and retirement accounts tamped down spending across the board in September as the country's financial crisis worsened, MasterCard Advisors said in a report on Tuesday.



Luxury spending, including high-end department stores, leather goods and high-end restaurants, fell 4.8 percent, as the rising U.S. dollar curbed spending by foreign tourists.

SpendingPulse data is derived from aggregate sales in the MasterCard U.S. payment network, coupled with estimates on all other payments including cash and checks.

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Merrill CEO to stay with BoA

Bank of America Corp. said Thursday that Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Chief Executive John Thain will take a new position at Bank of America once the bank completes its acquisition of Merrill.




The deal kept Merrill from a Bear Stearns-style fire sale or a complete meltdown like Lehman Brothers. At the same time, it will enable Bank of America to expand the financial services it offers to its already huge customer base.

The combined entity will create one of the nation's largest financial services firms.

Under terms of the transaction, Bank of America will exchange 0.8595 shares of Bank of America common stock for each Merrill Lynch common share. Based on Bank of America's closing price of $38.13 Wednesday, Merrill shareholders will receive about $32.77 per share.

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US Senate approves $700bn financial rescue plan

After the shocking event in US Congress, which dismayed the global stockmarkets due to disapproval of the $700 billion bailout plan, the US Senate came in to rescue and finally approved the proposed financial rescue plan.



Meanwhile, economists stressed that the measure shouldn't be regarded as a panacea and are expecting a sharp slowdown in the coming months.

"The mortgage-finance rescue package won't be an instant cure-all for the economy, but it is the first government step that attempts to address the root causes of the mess," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson-ICAP.

"At a minimum, however, the package improves the odds that the economy can begin to heal itself," he wrote to clients.

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