• Fed takes major steps to loosen money supply
• U.S. data show growth still slowing, inflation in check
• Nissan to sell $1.3 billion in auto-backed debt
• IMF, OECD cut growth forecasts
• BOJ boosts bond purchases

U.S. stocks and Treasuries gained ground this week as investors cheered the U.S. Federal Reserve Board’s plan to buy $1 trillion of bonds in an effort to lower consumer borrowing costs and bring an end to the recession. The upward equity move was blunted by week’s end as the Fed’s plan rekindled concerns of inflation, and those worries drove the dollar sharply lower and the price of gold higher. Read the rest of this entry »