Federal Reserve

Asian markets rallied overnight after the Federal Reserve indicated it will not hike interest rates.

The Federal Reserve last night cut its growth forecast for the US and warned inflation is higher than expected, while hinting QE2 is on track to finish in June as planned.

Members of the Bank of England court revealed yesterday they are "uncomfortable" with governor Mervyn King's involvement in politics.

The family of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) top lawyer made $1.5m by investing with fraudster Bernard Madoff, according to a trustee for victims of the ponzi scheme.

The auction of €5bn ($4.3bn) of five-year bonds to fund Stage One of the Irish loan package was subject to huge demand from Asian and Middle Eastern investors yesterday.

China and the US will lead the biggest-ever economic boom as global output triples again by 2050, a HSBC report predicts.

Germany, the strongest country in the eurozone, has vetoed any increase in the €440bn rescue package.

Free banking for those in credit is expensive to the financial sector, kills competition and stops new providers setting up, Lord Turner told the Treasury Select Committee yesterday.

Gold prices have hit another record high on the back of Euro sovereign debt concerns and inflation worries.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has defended a decision to introduce a second round of quantitative easing, arguing it will not lead to a spike in inflation.