Kantor Wealth Management

The Federal Reserve does not accept auction-rate securities issued by closed-end funds as collateral against loans from its discount window, eliminating a potential source of cash for banks preparing to buy back billions of dollars of these securities

The outlook for the European corporate securitisation market is unlikely to improve this year as higher pricing, illiquidity and a damping of investor demand triggered by the credit crunch has reduced its appeal as a funding pool for companies

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sold a combined $3bn of short-term debt, helping to reassure stock markets that the two beleaguered US mortgage financiers could still fund their operations without a government rescue

The euro bounced off a six-month low against the dollar and European government bonds fell sharply as benign German inflation data were offset by hawkish comments from ECB officials

Pakistani officials were looking at ways to stabilise the country's stock market after it fell a further 3 per cent amid rising political uncertainty

US stocks were flat in early trade as investors weighed higher oil prices, as a result of concerns that tropical storm Gustav could disrupt supplies of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, against better-than-expected data on durable goods orders.

The dollar was weaker on Wednesday, as oil prices rose ahead of US inventories data and amid concerns that Tropical Storm Gustav could threaten rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil prices rose, ahead of the latest US inventories data, while gold prices also rallied and base metals recovered after a broad sell-off in the previous session

European equities fell on Wednesday as weakness among banks outweighed energy stocks that gained from rising oil prices

London equities fell further on Wednesday, with fresh bad news from the housing sector hitting developers.

Asia-Pacific equities were mixed with Japan weighed down by property stocks and a higher yen, while investors applauded the earnings of companies including China Cosco and Woodside Petroleum

More bad news on the German economy helped drive the euro to a six-month low against the dollar and pushed short-dated European government bond yields to their lowest for three months

US stocks were mixed in early trade following the sharp sell-off of the previous session, as investors continued to fret about the health of the financial sector and digested important data on the economy

Oil prices retreated by more than $1 a barrel while gold prces also dropped and base metals weakened in a broad retreat across commodity markets

The euro fell to a six-month low against the dollar after German business confidence slumped and official data showed the country's economy contracted in the second quarter

Mining and metals stocks led European shares downhill for a second consecutive session tracking sharp overnight losses on Wall Street.

London's equity markets fell on Tuesday after sharp overnight losses on Wall Street, failing to get a lift from a crop of forecast-beating results and bid activity

Global growth worries hurt big technology and industrial companies.

Asia-Pacific shares retreated on Tuesday, backtracking on Monday's gains, as financial stocks followed Wall Street down amid renewed concerns about the length of the credit crisis

A surge in demand from China could cause a bounce in commodities prices as restrictions on industrial activity around Beijing are eased after the Olympics