Bank of England pumps $84B into UK economy

The Bank of England announced plans Thursday to pump another £50 billion ($84 billion) into the UK economy in a fresh effort to steer the country out of a recession which it admitted had been "deeper than previously thought." The surprise measure takes the total sum injected into the economy via government-backed “quantitative easing” to £175 billion ($294 billion). The sum exceeds the £150 billion ($252 billion) the bank was authorized to create when the plan was announced in March. But in an exchange of letters with UK finance minister Alistair Darling, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said an extension of the scheme was necessary to meet the government’s 2 percent inflation target

Share

Castro calls for tight finances in Cuba

Sunday was a day of commemoration in Cuba — the 56th anniversary of the start of the Cuban Revolution — but the message from President Raul Castro was not all celebratory. The island nation will face a second round of belt-tightening as a result of the global financial crunch, Castro said in a speech marking Revolution Day. He said that on Tuesday he would hold a meeting of the Council of Ministries “dedicated to the analysis of the second cost adjustment in this year’s plan, due to the effects of the global economic crisis, especially on the reduction of revenues from exports and the additional restrictions on accessing external financing.” The global economic downturn has hit Cuba hard.

Share

Lloyds shares plunge following HBOS losses

Lloyds Banking Group saw its share price tumbled Friday after reporting worse-than-expected profits for its subsidiary HBOS. Shares for the UK-based banking group tumbled almost 35 per cent by the close of London trading Friday, Reuters.com reported. The Lloyds Banking Group, formed following the merger between HBOS and Lloyds TSB, began trading for the first time last month

Share