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Investors edgy as US stocks fall

US stock markets sank on fears the bailout of insurance giant AIG would not be enough to dispel the gloom engulfing the financial world.

Finance firms slumped with Goldman Sachs 24% lower while Morgan Stanley saw shares 32% down in afternoon trade.

Investors were unnerved by recent dramatic events, including Lehman Brothers' demise, leading European indexes to end down.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed more than 300 points, or 3%.

The FTSE 100 closed 2.2% lower while France's Cac 40 shed 2.1% and Germany's Dax shed 1.7%.

It has been a tumultuous week on financial markets, with significant changes in the financial landscape.

Key events on Wednesday included:

* Beleaguered HBOS in merger talks with Lloyds TSB after a steep fall in its share price

* US insurance giant AIG being bailed out by the US government

* Volatile stock markets as global investors remain nervous

* Trading on the Russian stock exchange being suspended

* Barclays snapping up key assets from Lehman Brothers after its bankruptcy

Finance shares were among the most volatile on Tuesday.

Top UK mortgage lender HBOS, which has faced heavy selling this week, had a rollercoaster ride.

HBOS shares fell some 50% before recovering after it emerged that it was in advanced talks to be taken over by Lloyds TSB.

But by close of trade HBOS was 19% lower, while Royal Bank of Scotland shed 10.4%.

I don't think anyone has got any or much confidence in market direction for more than a few days

Darren Winder, Cazenove

Topsy-turvy trade

Trade is likely to remain rocky amid concern that financial system instability will continue after the dramatic events of the past few days.

"I don't think anyone has got any or much confidence in market direction for more than a few days," said Darren Winder, a strategist at Cazenove.

AIG's bail-out follows the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, which caused share prices to plummet across the world's financial markets.

The White House on Wednesday defended the takeover of AIG, saying: "You have a government that is willing to lead, act where appropriate, and govern to make sure that we limit broader financial harm to the economy," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

Another investment bank, Merrill Lynch, has been sold off to Bank of America.

Russia's stock exchange suspended trade following steep falls in shares.

Asian shares had a mixed session. Stocks in Tokyo, Taipei, and Seoul all rose, although prices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia lost ground.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index ended up 1.2% at 11,749.79, having risen by as much as 2.3% earlier in the day. The index had hit a three-year low on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 3.6% at 17,637.19 points.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7620318.stm

Published: 2008/09/17 18:50:35 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

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EU to overhaul fisheries policy

The European Commission has announced a full review of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, saying the current regime fails to protect fish stocks.

The commission says that fishermen who obey the fishing rules are being penalised by the irresponsible behaviour of others who flout them.

That "vicious circle" has undermined the ecological balance of the oceans, the commission says.

The EU wants to cut the size of fleets and the time fishermen spend at sea.

Overfishing threat

The commission says there are still too many vessels chasing too few fish, and that ecological sustainability must take precedence over economic or social factors.

In other words, just because a community has traditionally depended on fishing does not mean it can continue to do so.

The Common Fisheries Policy was established in 1983 and last reformed in 2002.

It sets quotas for catches and is aimed at curbing harmful practices such as "discards" - when trawlers throw organisms back into the sea.

Overfishing is the main threat to the future of fish stocks, and the current policy rewards narrow-minded and short-term decision-making, the commission says.

In 2003, 29% of open sea fisheries were assessed as being in a state of collapse, defined as a decline to less than 10% of their original yield.

Fishermen are using ever more powerful boats, cleverer technology and bigger nets; but even so the global catch of fish is falling because there are fewer of them. Between 1994 and 2003 it declined by 13%.

Many species in EU waters are at risk of extinction, according to scientists.

The EU is the world's second largest fishing power after China.

While more than two million tons of fish products were exported in 2006, more than six million tons had to be imported to meet EU needs.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7621618.stm

Published: 2008/09/17 15:52:54 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

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Norway joins fight to save Amazon

Norway has pledged $1bn (?500m) to a new international fund to help Brazil protect the Amazon rainforest.

The donation is the first to the fund which Brazil hopes will raise $21bn to protect Amazon nature reserves.

Norway's prime minister said the project was important in the fight to reduce global warming.

Brazil is one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, with three-quarters of its total coming from the burning of trees in the Amazon.

The money will be released over seven years to promote alternatives to forest-clearing for people living in the Amazon, and support conservation and sustainable development.

The Amazon rainforest

Largest continuous tropical forest

Shared by nine countries

65% Brazilian territory

Covers 6.6m sq km in total

Pop: 30m - 23.5m are in Brazil

Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said: "Efforts against deforestation may give us the largest, quickest and cheapest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

"Brazilian efforts against deforestation are therefore of vital importance if we shall succeed in our campaign against global warming," he added.

The Brazilian government wants to raise $21bn through foreign donors by 2021, although President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has insisted that the Amazon's preservation is Brazil's responsibility.

He welcomed Norway's pledge, saying: "The day that every developed country has the same attitude as Norway, we'll certainly begin to trust that global warming can be diminished."

Japan, Sweden, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland are said to be considering donating to the fund, which was launched last month.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7621179.stm

Published: 2008/09/17 13:25:13 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

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US government rescues insurer AIG

The US Federal Reserve has announced an $85bn (?48bn) rescue package for AIG, the country's biggest insurance company, to save it from bankruptcy.

AIG will get an $85bn loan, in return for an 80% public stake in the firm.

The rescue follows the collapse of US investment giant Lehman Brothers, which caused share prices to plummet across the world's financial markets.

Authorities are hoping the bail-out will avert the threat of a global financial meltdown.

The Fed's move is viewed by some as the most radical intervention in private business in its history and has helped fuel a tentative rally on global stock markets.

The past few days have seen dramatic events unfold in the financial world:

* The UK's top mortgage lender HBOS is in merger talks with Lloyds TSB after a steep fall in HBOS shares

* The Fed and the US Treasury say AIG's bailout will protect the interests of US taxpayers

* US interest rates have been kept on hold despite widespread calls for a cut

* Barclays says it is buying some of the core assets of US investment bank Lehman Brothers for $1.75bn (?1bn)

'Challenging times'

The Federal Reserve made its decision about AIG "with the full support of the Treasury Department", it said in a statement, adding that the secured loan included conditions designed to protect "the interests of the US government and taxpayers".

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Chaos as people rush to cancel policies at AIG in Singapore

The US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson refused to bail out America's fourth-largest investment bank Lehman Brothers after it filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday.

But he supported the rescue of AIG and said the move would protect taxpayers.

"These are challenging times for our financial markets," he said.

The rescue of AIG - which has a trillion dollars in assets and insures bank loans around the world - helped world stock markets rally.

Wednesday trading saw gains in Tokyo, Taiwan, Singapore and Seoul, though prices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia fell.

European markets were higher, but trading was volatile.

The dollar also rose against major currencies.

AIG's 'tentacles'

Analysts said the demise of AIG - which has policy holders in more than 100 countries and insures deals and investments across the globe - would have had a far greater impact on financial markets than Lehman's collapse.

These are challenging times for our financial markets

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

Were the company to fail, many banks and investment funds around the world would lose their insurance cover at a time when defaults on payments are likely to rise.

The Governor of New York, David Paterson, said AIG had so many business interests it would be hard to predict how widespread its bankruptcy would have been felt.

"Its tentacles go further in to the avenues of business, as in mortgages, as in credit, as in hedge funds, as in countless ways that affect consumers, that affect drivers, that affect homeowners, affect passengers," he said.

AIG had posted losses in each of the last nine months.

It was badly affected by the collapse of the US housing market, says the BBC's business reporter Rob Young, owing to the underwriting payments it was forced to make when customers defaulted on their loans.

Market slump

The AIG plan calls for the government to seize up to 80% of the company and remove its management, in a similar fashion to the way it took control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which were crippled by the US housing crisis.

AIG - KEY FACTS

Employs 116,000 people in more than 100 countries

Employs more than 2,000 people in the UK

Founded in 1919 in Shanghai

Now based in New York

Sponsors Manchester United

Sells insurance policies through Argos and Boots

Source: AIG

The White House welcomed the package, saying the deal was made "in the interest of promoting stability in financial markets and limiting damage to the broader economy".

Meanwhile, the Fed has left interest rates unchanged at 2% despite calls for a cut. The BBC's Matthew Price in New York said the bank had decided an interest rate cut would not help to alleviate the short-term financial crisis.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rallied on Tuesday, closing 141 points higher having on Monday suffered its worst day's trading since the September 2001 attacks on the US.

Central banks around the world responded by carrying out emergency measures to keep markets liquid.

The extra funding came as the interest rates at which banks lend to each other rocketed - as they did at the start of the credit crunch.

Are you affected by the issues covered in this story? Are you an employee of AIG, Lehman Brothers or another financial institution facing uncertainty? Would you be willing to be interviewed by a BBC journalist - anonymously if you prefer? Send us your experiences using the form below.

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Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7620127.stm

Published: 2008/09/17 11:23:10 GMT

? BBC MMVIII

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