FGC BOLSA - FGC FINANCIAL MARKETS INFO

» Amid the deepening euro-zone crisis, Moody's downgraded the credit rating of both Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, two of France's largest banks , over concerns that they hold insufficient capital to withstand a Greek default. BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, denied reports that it was having trouble raising funds in the markets. French officials insisted that the country's financial sector was sound and did not need a further injection of capital from the government. A strong response » Germany nominated Jörg Asmussen, the deputy finance minister, to be its highest-ranking official at the European Central Bank , after the sudden resignation of Jürgen Stark as the ECB's chief economist. Mr Stark stepped down in apparent protest at the central bank's increasingly interventionist role in shoring up weaker countries in the euro zone. » In an unprecedented move, the British government sought to sue the ECB over a new rule that requir

  » Currency interventions: Francs for nothing » More trouble for Yahoo!: Portal exit » Switzerland's central bank surprised markets by setting a ceiling for the Swiss currency of SFr1.20 against the euro in an attempt to keep it down. The Swiss National Bank has made less dramatic interventions recently that have done little to rein in the Swiss franc, which investors have flocked to as a haven from the euro-zone's debt crisis. The move fuelled fears of a full-blown currency war, as countries try to protect their exports. See article The autumn of our discontent » Investors remained perturbed about the health of European banks , as Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, gave warning that "numerous" lenders would collapse if they were forced to revalue the sovereign debt they hold at current market values. Mr Ackermann also spoke of a "new normality" in banking that is "characterised by volatility and uncertai

  » The IMF: Time for a change » Sony and its boss: Stringer theory » Mobile payments in America: Money? There's an app for that » Christine Lagarde , France's finance minister, launched her official bid to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the IMF. Ms Lagarde is the front-runner for the position. But there was growing disquiet in the developing world over the convention that only Europeans should be considered for the fund's top job, with the IMF representatives of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa issuing a joint statement on the matter. Ms Lagarde acknowledged their concerns, but said that being European should be neither a "handicap, nor an asset" when assessing her qualifications. See article » The American government reaped a small profit from the first sale of its shares in American International Group since bailing out the insurer in 2008. The Treasury sold 200m shares and AIG a further 100m i