а интересно девки пляшут )))
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Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve plans to ease
``elevated'' short-term funding pressures by injecting cash to
banks through auctions and providing $24 billion in currency swap
lines to the European and Swiss central banks.
The Fed is coordinating the measures with the European
Central Bank, Bank of England, Bank of Canada and Swiss National
Bank, the Fed said in a statement in Washington. The Fed will
auction term funds to banks against a ``wide variety of
collateral.'' All ``generally sound'' institutions can
participate, the statement said.
The central banks are taking the steps after demand for cash
sent borrowing costs climbing. The Fed's previous attempts to
ease the credit squeeze that began in August have failed to have
lasting effects. One gauge watched by central bankers, the three-
month dollar London Interbank Offered Rate, rose to 5.15 percent
a week ago, the highest in almost two months.
Stocks rallied in Europe and U.S. stock futures jumped after
the announcement. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 50 index rose 0.5
percent to 4,473.57 at 3:10 p.m. in Frankfurt. Futures on the
Standard & Poor's 500 stock index advanced 2 percent TO 1,507.80.
``By allowing the Federal Reserve to inject term funds
through a broader range of counterparties and against a broader
range of collateral than open market operations, this facility
could help promote the efficient dissemination of liquidity when
the unsecured interbank markets are under stress,'' the Fed
statement said.
Currency Swaps
In addition, the Federal Open Market Committee authorized
``temporary reciprocal currency arrangements,'' or swap lines,
for up to six months, with the European Central Bank of as much
as $20 billion and $4 billion to the Swiss National Bank ``for
use in their jurisdictions.''
Yesterday, U.S. stocks had their biggest drop in a month and
two-year Treasury yields plummeted after the Federal Open Market
Committee lowered the benchmark rate by a quarter-point to 4.25
percent and said cumulative cuts of 1 percentage point this year
should promote ``moderate growth.''
Some investors expected a larger reduction of a half-point
to stave off a recession. The Fed's board also reduced the
discount rate, covering direct loans to banks, by a quarter point
to 4.5 percent, half of what many economists predicted.
The Fed's first auction of term funds will be $20 billion on
Dec. 17. The second auction will provide up to $20 billion,
taking place Dec. 20. The central bank plans two more auctions,
Jan. 14 and Jan. 28, with possible additional operations
thereafter, the Fed said.
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