Time to pull the plug
Maverecon blog: If a government lacks the fiscal resources, a private sector insolvency problem is transformed into a government insolvency problem
Principal content
Darling unveils bank rescue
Alistair Darling, chancellor of the exchequer, ordered a taxpayer-backed cash injection to rebuild the balance sheets of Britain’s high street banks, in effect part-nationalising the sector at a cost of up to £50bn. But the scheme failed to halt the slide in the FTSE 100, which plunged to a five-year low
McCain and Obama clash over economy
Debate focus on financial crisis and taxation
Europe’s massive sell off extended
Banks and resource stocks lead the decline
EU agrees common action on banks crisis
Each member free to adopt own measures
Moscow to pump $37bn into biggest state institutions
Move follows steep falls in Moscow markets
Iceland’s biggest bank gets Swedish loan
Skr5bn for Kaupthing to avert liquidity problems
Related content and features
Video
Daily View: UK bank rescue plan unveiled
Peter Thal Larsen on the strings attached for any banks that take the government’s money
US Daily View: Financials hit ten-year low
John Authers on how government efforts to shore up banks drove down financial stocks more than 11%
US Daily View: Fed to buy commercial paper
Aline van Duyn on the Fed’s unprecedented plan to buy unsecured debt in the commercial paper market
Interactive
Governments guarantee bank deposits
Interactive feature: Which governments have taken steps to guarantee bank deposits? Find out with this interactive map
Diminishing returns in Nashville
Clive Crook’s blog: It dragged. At least Jim Lehrer tried to get the candidates to talk to each other in the first debate. Tom Brokaw seemed keen to prevent it
Banks too big to fail?
Interactive feature: Updated to shows tier 1 capital ratios for each bank, and household debt levels as percentage of GDP
Comment
Extend state ownership to save jobs
To keep people in work, we have to accept that permanent government support of our ailing productive sector is required, writes Richard Sennett
How low will presidential campaign go?
The real test of Republican restraint in the campaign will be whether McCain plays the race card against Obama, writes Jurek Martin
Bank must cut interest rates by a point
The Bank’s failure to act pre-emptively may have increased the chances of a deeper and more prolonged recession, writes Sushil Wadhwani
John Kay: Assistance must first protect the taxpayer
Experience has shown temporary public aid to get companies over a bad patch is rarely either temporary or effective, writes John Kay
Lex
Asian capital flight
Whoo-oosh. That cheerful whistling sound of 2007, when capital was beating a path to Asia, has been replaced by the sucking sound of retreat
Editorial comment
Editorial Comment: Fighting the fire calls for boldness
The UK government appears to be trying to get ahead of the blaze to build a firebreak; it wants to recapitalise its main banks
Russia finds it is in same sinking boat
Moscow’s call for international action on the financial crisis is a welcome sign it is ready to co-operate in responding to the grave economic challenge
