 » A downgrade of America's credit rating and more worries about the American economy and European debt caused stockmarkets to plunge again. Many of the world's share indices have now registered their worst few days since the height of the financial crisis. The European Central Bank bought Italian and Spanish government bonds for the first time, causing the yields on those maturities to drop and easing the cost of borrowing for Italy and Spain, but the intervention provided little relief for investors elsewhere. Despite the downgrade, the yields on American bonds also came down. See article Oh là là » The cost of insuring against defaults on debt held by the French government and French banks all rose sharply. Nicolas Sarkozy interrupted his holiday on the Riviera to hold a meeting with colleagues about further budget measures; the big ratings agencies reiterated that France's AAA status is safe for now. See article » The Federal Reserve took the extraordinary step of announcing that it was minded to keep the federal funds rate close to zero for at least two more years. It also restated that it was "prepared to employ" a "range of policy tools" if the economy worsens, which some think might include a third round of bond-buying. » After the Fed's announcement the Swiss franc leapt to a record high against the dollar. For the second time within a week the Swiss National Bank intervened in the currency market to halt the franc's appreciation, which threatens Swiss exports.  » As stockmarkets tumbled, the price of gold surged to trade above $1,800 a troy ounce, reaching parity with platinum prices for the first time since the end of 2008. » American International Group lodged a lawsuit against Bank of America, claiming BofA sold it low-risk securities backed by "defective" mortgages given to low-income borrowers. It is one of the biggest claims so far to originate from the practices that led to the financial crisis; suits against other big banks are expected to follow. » Germany's Commerzbank booked a €760m ($1.1 billion) write-down on its holdings of Greek sovereign debt, which caused quarterly profit to fall by 95%. » Continuing the restructuring of its business, HSBC sold its credit-card portfolio in the United States, which contains around $30 billion in consumer debt, to Capital One. » Hackers attacked the website of the Hong Kong stock exchange, causing it to suspend trading in the shares of seven companies. Earlier the operator of the bourse, which lies behind only New York this year in the amount of money raised from new listings, posted a 19% rise in quarterly profit.
Can't consumers decide? » Apple won a preliminary injunction against Samsung that stops the South Korean company from distributing its Galaxy tablet computer in European countries, other than the Netherlands. Apple brought its case in a German court, claiming that Samsung had copied the design of its iPad. Both companies are involved in several tit-for-tat legal tussles over patent rights. » News Corporation reported a drop in quarterly profit because of declining revenue from film and DVDs and the sale of its MySpace website, though operating income at its cable-TV division was up. Rupert Murdoch said he had the full confidence of the board to stay on, despite the scandals at News Corp's British newspaper subsidiary. » Kraft Foods became the second big company recently (after ConocoPhillips) to announce that it was splitting its business. Kraft is to trade as two independent public companies; one concentrated on its global snacks brands, such as Oreo and Cadbury, which it acquired 18 months ago, and the other focused on its North American grocery products, which include Jell-O desserts. » A French court announced an investigation into claims that Christine Lagarde tried to influence a business dispute in favour of a political supporter of the French government while she was finance minister. Ms Lagarde recently took over as managing director of the IMF after the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn amid allegations of rape. The New York maid who has laid the allegations against Mr Strauss-Kahn filed a civil lawsuit this week.
No respite » The Treasury put an end to speculation about Timothy Geithner's immediate future by announcing that he "plans to stay on" as Treasury secretary. Mr Geithner had considered escaping from the job to spend more time with his family, but the White House persuaded him to remain at his post. | 
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