...the main business headlines..........
Asian markets surge on US bailout
Markets across Asia responded strongly to the proposed bailout package by the Treasury at the end of last week, reported the Daily Telegraph. In Tokyo the Bank of Japan injected a further 1.5 trillion yen into the money markets, the fifth such operation in as many days. In response the country’s benchmark Nikkei index rose over two per cent to close above 12,000. Markets in the region also gained, with China’s Composite index up nearly seven per cent in morning trade and several bank shares making limit gains of ten per cent.
In pictures: The week that shook the world 
Goldman, Morgan to become banks
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley over the course of the weekend applied to the Federal Reserve to become banks, said the Financial Times. The Fed announced at 9.30pm on Sunday that it had approved their applications and during the transition period will make loans to both companies in exchange for acceptable collateral. The Fed will also lend to the companies' London broking subsidiaries directly. The move "spells the end of the investment banking industry" and means that Goldman and Morgan will start to take deposits from savers.
Paulson's plan to save the banks could cost $1 trillion
Bradford & Bingley next on block
The Financial Services Authority is believed to be sounding out potential “white knights” to rescue mortgage company Bradford & Bingley should it be affected by a market sell-off, reported the Financial Times. In the wake of the rescue of HBOS by Lloyds TSB last week, the FSA is thought to have looked at alternatives for the company including breaking it up and selling off its assets and as a last resort nationalisation. However it would prefer a buyer to be found for the UK’s last stand-alone mortgage lender, on the scale of HSBC or Santander.
Financial crisis is a mess of Brown's creation
Paulson seeks deal by Friday
Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, spent the weekend talking up his bailout bill, reported the Independent. The plan involves $700bn of taxpayers' money and would turn the federal government into "the world's biggest hedge fund". The basis of the plan involves the use of the $700bn to buy mortgage-related assets in the face of the recent deterioration in the credit environment. Paulson warned Congress not to derail the bill, which would raise US national debt to $11.3 trillion and see the Treasury become exempt from related lawsuits.
Who will pay for the incompetence that led to financial collapse?
Dollar falls on rescue criticism
The dollar fell today in Asian trading, on worries over the effectiveness of the banking sector rescue package, reported the Times. The US currency was weaker against both the yen and the euro, as investors wondered just how effective the measures would be in the long-term. The dollar fell nearly one per cent against the yen and 0.2 per cent versus the euro. Uncertainty also exists on which institutions will benefit from the scheme with British and European banks likely to be excluded, due to anger on Wall Street at using taxpayers’ funds for overseas businesses.
Commodities hit bottom
Commodities appear to have hit a bottom after one of the worst periods of performance for fifty years, said Bloomberg.com. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of commodities “surged” 8.4 per cent in the three days to September 19th, the day when the Treasury announced its rescue plan. Crude oil jumped 6.8 per cent on that day alone, with wheat and copper up 3.6 per cent. Analysts believe that conditions are now set for a sustained recovery in the commodity markets, on the possible boost the plan will give to the global economy.
...in brief..................
Lehman Europe units near sale and Royal Mail chairman to step down
The sale of Lehman’s European equity trading and corporate finance arms appears to be drawing near, said the Financial Times. The administrator, PwC, has been in talks with Barclays on the equities business and Nomura on the advisory operations, according to insiders…………
Lloyds TSB has approached several leading property agents with a view to closing up to 700 high-street branches, said the Independent. The news “will add to fears” that there will be large-scale redundancies as a result of the bank's acquisition of rival HBOS…………
State-owned German bank KfW has been dubbed “Germany’s dumbest bank” by the country’s press, after transferring more than £275m to Lehman Brothers, hours before the bank became insolvent. KfW is now taking advice on possible criminal charges against executives…………
The auction of the British arm of broadband supplier Tiscali saw Carphone Warehouse return to the table with a bid of less than £450m, said the Times. The offer is 25 per cent less than earlier expectations and is believed to be one of two currently under consideration…………
Yell Group, publisher of the Yellow Pages in the UK, suspended its dividend and said it is seeking co-operation from its lenders to ease debt limits, reported Bloomberg.com. Shares in the company, spun off from BT in 2001, rose eight per cent on the news............
The chairman of the Royal Mail, Allan Leighton, is to stand down from the role by March 2009. Leighton, who has been chairman of the postal service since 2002, will be involved in the search for his successor, with headhunting company Zygos Partnership…………
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