Midday Report: Fed cuts rates 75 basis points in emergency move

Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 17:06:04 (GMT)

Fed cuts rates 75 basis points in emergency move

Hoping to prevent a market meltdown and recession, the Federal Reserve
lowered its overnight lending rate by 75 basis points to 3.50% on
Tuesday in a rare move between formal meetings.

Bank of America profit falls 95% on writeoff, trading loss

Bank of America said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 95% after
the company said writeoffs for subprime credit problems, big trading
losses and a weakening consumer hit the firm.

Europe Markets: Stocks in Europe close higher as banking stocks rally

European shares moved off lows Tuesday morning as speculation grew that
central banks would cut interest rates to shore up markets that have
been hard hit by worries about slowing growth and asset write-downs.

Asia Markets: Sell-off unabated; Tokyo falls 6%, Hong Kong drops 9%

Asian stocks came under relentless selling pressure for the second
straight session on Tuesday, a day after fears the U.S. economy could
slip into a recession triggered a sell-off that spread to Europe and
Latin America.