IMF forecast: US economy will stagnate in the second half of 2008. Says US interest rates should be kept on hold. Financial Times
FBI arrests 406 in "Operation Malicious Mortgage." Charges include mortgage fraud, mis-statement of assets. BBC
Fund managers pulling money out of India and China at record pace. Will it be time to buy there soon? Telegraph
UK Home prices will fall 9% and sales by 45% this year. Prediction by HBOS. Guardian
Circuit City will suspend dividends. Loses $164.8 million last quarter; sales at US stores down 8.8%. Financial Times
Fifth Third Bancorp - a dividend aristocrat no more. Bank will cut dividend and seeks to raise capital. Financial Times
Will Bank of America (BAC) cut its dividend? A full analysis of the prospects: News & Observer
Mexico imposes price controls on food. Inflation at 4.5%, food prices are up 8% this year. Financial Times
Rating agency downgrades Jordan to "frontier" equities market. May do the same with Argentina and Colombia next year. Financial Times
Where's the fund money going?
According to a survey of Merrill Lynch fund managers, it's flowing into Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand and Turkey. Funds are exiting the other BRIC countries, China and India, at a rapid pace as well as Israel and Mexico. The fear is that central banks in these countries may have to raise rates to fight inflation, which has been surging. The full story is in the Telegraph. Money is also reported to be moving out of European equities, as it is widely expected the ECB will raise rates to fight inflation at its next meeting.
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