Head of the Swedish National Debt OfficeBo Lundgren says that the $700 billion U.S. financial industry bailout is based on too-optimistic valuations, and may not be enough to restore confidence in the financial system. (Dagens industri)
The German government and private banks inject 35 billion Euros into the struggling Hypo Real Estate, a bank that is heavily involved in the real estate business. The bank had been struggling because its Irish subsidy Depfa Bank had suffered massive losses during the subprime mortgage crisis. The HRE is the first company from the DAX that had to be rescued by the government in recent memory. (Handelsblatt.com)
Brazil's stock market had its worst one-day plunge in almost a decade, the São Paulo Stock Exchange sank 9.36% to 46,028.06 points, its steepest drop since 1999. (Reuters)
Russian RTS falls 7,1%, MICEX 5,5%, as investors sell off assets on emerging markets on concerns that the U.S. government's bailout plan will not be enough to stem the financial crisis caused by the U.S. housing bubble. (MarketWatch)
Citigroup acquires the banking operations of Wachovia, the troubled Charlotte, N.C.-based bank. Under the agreement, Citigroup will absorb up to $42 billion of losses on a $312 billion pool of loans, while the U.S. Government will take losses beyond that. (MarketWatch)
Sweden’s official debt collection agency is suffering from severe economic problems after having over-spent and over-borrowed and may be forced to cut staff to stop the bleeding. (The Local)