• G-20 calls for more regulation; pledges $1T+ in emergency aid
• Oil tops $53 per barrel
• U.S. unemployment hits 25-year high
• FASB votes to relax mark-to-market rules
• ECB cuts rates
• Emerging markets rally on Mexico bid for IMF loan

U.S. stocks rose this week, buoyed by signs that the economic slowing may be abating and by efforts of world leaders to end the global crisis. News this week was dominated by a meeting in London of the Group of 20 policymakers, who called for stricter limits on hedge funds, executive pay, credit rating firms, and on risk taking by banks. In addition, the group tripled the lending power of the International Monetary Fund, expanded its reserves, and offered cash to revive trade to help governments weather the turmoil resulting from the surge in unemployment. Altogether, leaders pledged more than $1 trillion in emergency aid to lessen the economic fallout. Read the rest of this entry »

• Toxic-asset plan well received
• Economic data show some improvement
• Corporate profits slump in fourth quarter
• Japanese exports plunge 49%

Stocks ended the week higher as several reports raised hopes that the economy may be turning a corner, and investors responded enthusiastically to the White House’s plan to clean banks’ balance sheets. The success of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s seven-year note auction also buoyed sentiment, convincing investors that the Treasury could still raise money at reasonable rates. During the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average firmly entered so-called bull market territory, gaining more than 20% since its March 9 low.

U.S. economic news

Toxic-asset plan buoys markets
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner detailed the Obama administration’s Public-Private Investment Program, a plan intended to clean toxic assets from banks’ balance sheets. The two-part program aims to boost purchases of bad loans and real-estate related securities and will use up to $100 billion of bank rescue funds from the Treasury as well as financial guarantees from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Read the rest of this entry »