Risk-Averse Euro Markets Retreat

US accuses them of dodging due diligence as crisis fallout spreads

(NEWSER) - The Federal Housing Finance Agency—the agency behind Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac—has filed suit against more than a dozen big banks for their role in the mortgage meltdown mess. The feds, seeking billions in compensation, accuse the banks of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities, reports the New York Times . The suit accuses institutions including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank of failing to perform proper due diligence and missing evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. More»

Tokyo, London advance after Wall Street's crazy day

(NEWSER) - Asian and European markets rose today, reacting to the sharp swing from negative to positive in New York yesterday. In Tokyo the Nikkei gained 2.7%, while the FTSE in London was up 3.3% in mid-morning trading. Bargain-hunting investors pounced on undervalued financial stocks: Anglo American jumped nearly 10% in early trading while Man Group advanced 6.5%. More»

EU leaders' disagreements sow fear

(NEWSER) - Financial stocks led sharp declines across European markets this morning after the continent's finance ministers failed to agree on a joint effort to stem the crisis. By 10 a.m. in London the FTSE was down 5.2%, with troubled banking giant HBOS plummeting 15%. In Frankfurt the Dax was down 4.5%, while in Paris the CAC 40 fell 4.7%. More»

(NEWSER) - Stocks were down in Europe and Asia today amid fears of a global recession despite the massive government bailout being arranged in the US. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index dipped for a second day, falling 1.8% in early trading, Bloomberg reports. Barclays fell 3.6% and Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd.dipped 4.5%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped .6%, ending a two-day rally. "The problems aren't resolved," warned one analyst. More»

New Treasury plans also boost market

(NEWSER) - World stocks jumped today on government measures to stop the credit-market meltdown and news that the US and the UK were getting tough on short sellers, Bloomberg reports. Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse climbed 15% after four days of decline in Europe, while Australia’s Macquarie surged 38% after the US proposed a new institution to take the troubled assets off the balance sheets of financial firms and the UK banned short selling for the year. More»