Worldwide

Financial News

Obama to Rely on Private Help to Buy Up to $1 Trillion of Illiquid Assets The Obama administration will announce details of a plan today to expand the $700 billion rescue of the financial system that will rely on enticing private investors to buy the troubled assets clogging banks’ balance sheets. Asian Stocks Climb on Expectations Government Stimulus Will Revive Growth Asian stocks rose, driving a regional benchmark index to a six-week high, on optimism governments will succeed in efforts to revive lending, easing the worst slump since the Great Depression. U.S. futures gained. Dollar, Yen Extend Drop as Obama Plan to Aid Risk, Japan Pessimism Swells The yen and the dollar fell, with Japan’s currency touching a five-month low against the euro, on speculation new U.S. government steps to help banks deal with toxic assets will boost demand for higher-yielding currencies. `Bull-Market' Equities Rally Has Begun, Templeton Asset's Mark Mobius Says The next “bull-market” rally has begun, Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s Mark Mobius said, refuting predictions that the equities meltdown will continue. Home Resales in U.S. Probably Fell in February as Mortgage Credit Dried Up U.S. sales of previously owned homes probably dropped in February to the lowest level on record as a lack of credit and rising unemployment kept buyers away, economists said before a report today. Shimao Gets $2.2 Billion Credit Line From Agricultural Bank to Fund Growth Shimao Property Holdings Ltd., the Chinese developer controlled by billionaire Xu Rongmao, got a 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) credit line from Agricultural Bank of China to fund projects and acquisitions as home sales improve.
General News

Obama's Afghanistan Plan Would Link Pakistan Aid to Fight Against Taliban President Barack Obama has been given a new Afghan war strategy that calls for tighter control of the Afghan-Pakistani border and linking aid to Pakistan with its willingness to fight extremists, said people familiar with the plan. Plane Crash in Montana Leaves 17 People Dead, U.S. Aviation Authority Says As many as 17 people were killed when a small plane crashed as it approached an airport in the U.S. state of Montana, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Congress's `Hypocrisy' on Corporate Trips Ban Angers U.S. Hotel Industry The U.S. Senate last month passed a measure limiting “luxury” spending for corporate travel by recipients of federal bailout funds. Two weeks later, about two dozen senators of both parties left town for political meetings on the Florida coast.