Wednesday April 22, 03:41 PM
SNAPSHOT - Financial Crisis - 1415 GMT
NEWS
- The British economy will shrink by 3.5 percent in 2009,
finance minister Alistair Darling said as he presented the
government's budget, the worst performance since World War Two.
Top earners will face a new 50 percent tax rate.
- The International Monetary Fund said the world economy has
fallen into a severe recession, cutting its forecast for global
growth and calling for forceful action to spur a recovery.
- China declared its economy has already hit bottom, but
wealthy nations saw few signs that the global crisis would end
soon in the debt-laden Western world.
- Japanese exports showed a rare sign of recovery in March,
government figures showed, suggesting the global slump in trade
that has pushed the economy into a deep recession may be easing.
MARKETS
- World stocks slipped on Wednesday, hit by downbeat results
from Morgan Stanley, while sterling and UK government bonds
tumbled after Britain unveiled a gloomy growth forecast and high
government borrowing.
- European shares fell more than 1 percent in afternoon
trade, with financial stocks losing ground after Morgan Stanley posted a net loss, and with Roche putting
pressure on pharmaceutical stocks.
- The yen rose broadly as declines in share prices and
concerns about the U.S. financial system encouraged investors to
buy the currency as a haven.
- Gold climbed in Europe as European shares and U.S. stock
futures extended declines, boosting interest in the metal as a
haven from risk.
- Oil briefly dipped below $48 a barrel after the
International Monetary Fund cut its 2009 global growth forecast
and said the world was in a severe recession.
QUOTES
'The action already taken here, and internationally, and the
measures I will announce today, mean that I expect the economy
to start growing again towards the end of the year,' British
finance minister Alistair Darling said as he presented the
government's budget to Parliament
'A key concern is that policies may be insufficient to arrest
the negative feedback between deteriorating financial conditions
and weakening economies in the face of limited public support
for policy actions,' the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook.
'Looking into the future, the second quarter and the
remainder of this year will continue this recovery trend,'
Chinese Deputy Central Bank Governor Yi Gang told a meeting in
Beijing.
'If you are looking for green shoots: my view is that a
deceleration of the downward pressure can be expected, but up to
now there are no clear signs of a levelling off in Germany and
Europe,' Axel Weber, who sits on the European Central Bank's
Governing Council, told the Financial Times.
DIARY
(all times GMT)
Wednesday, April 22
Washington - IMF releases semi-annual World Economic Outlook
- 1300 GMT
2100 - White House National Economic Council Director
Lawrence Summers speaks at a conference
(Compiled by Top News Team, London +44 (0)20 7542 6958)
Keywords: FINANCIAL/SNAPSHOT
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