United States Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said mortgage defaults will worsen in 2008 and lenders should act aggressively to offer new loan terms to avert an economic calamity, the Wall Street Journal online said.
Copper prices fell on Wednesday to an eight-month low, below 3 US dollars per pound, on the London Metal Exchange after rising dramatically last week due to several earthquakes in northern Chile's mining region. However the monthly average for copper remains at 3.21 US dollars.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD said on Wednesday that overall losses caused by the U.S. mortgage market crisis could hit 300 billion US dollars and the broader credit crunch could yet inflict greater damage on equity markets.
China's soy oil purchases will represent 45% of world's imports by the end of last September up 25% from seven years ago according to a report from the Beijing government supported Shanghai Daily”.
The dollar on Wednesday slumped to a new record low against the Euro pushed by weaker US growth prospects and pressures for another cut to US interest rates when the Federal Reserve Monetary meets next December 11.
European Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel announced plans to reduce funding for Europe's biggest farmers which means anyone currently receiving more than 100,000 euros as part of the Single Payment Scheme would have their aid capped.
The chairman of the G10 group of central bankers Jean-Claude Trichet was optimistic on Monday about prospects for global growth even though he conceded that the risks remain listed to the downside.
Global markets slumped Monday amid fears over the fallout of the credit crisis, after Goldman Sachs downgraded Citibank and forecast 15 billion US dollars in losses from the US subprime market.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged Monday to resolve trade imbalances after the country's surplus hit a record high in October and work to let the Yuan move more freely.
China's banking regulator has ordered commercial banks to strictly control the granting of new loans for the rest of the year in an attempt to prevent overshooting this year's lending growth target and overheating the world's fourth economy.