...the main headlines..........
Markets rally on recovery hopes
Stock markets rose after Citigroup and HSBC reported better than expected earnings. Shares in HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, surged 7.1 per cent after it announced January performance was better than expected. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index posted gains of 3 per cent to 73.46. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 4.6 per cent to 7,376.12. Financial stocks led the rally on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index which gained 6.4 percent yesterday, its biggest rise since November. Citigroup gained 38 percent after its chief said it was headed for its best quarter since 2007. The FTSE opened 33 points lower at 3853.89 after UBS reported worse than expected earnings.
UBS AG posts £13bn loss
UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, posted a loss of 20.9 billion Swiss franc (£13 billion) in 2008, more than originally reported, reported Bloomberg.com. Chairman Peter Kurer and CEO Oswald Gruebel said the additional costs stemmed from UBS's agreement to settle a US tax investigation and write downs on securities. UBS agreed to pay $780m and disclose hundreds of secret account holders to avoid US criminal prosecution on charges the Swiss Bank helped rich Americans evade taxes. After "record losses", the bank has also written down securities it hasn't yet transferred to the Swiss National Bank's fund for toxic assets.
Madoff faces life in prison
Federal prosecutors formally charged "renegade Wall Street financier" Bernard Madoff with 11 crimes ranging from fraud to international money laundering, reported the Guardian. Madoff's lawyer said the 70-year-old was likely to plead guilty before a judge today, leaving him facing the prospect of life in prison. Investigators believe Madoff spent decades taking money from clients via his $50bn Ponzi scheme - including actor Kevin Bacon and film director Pedro Almodovar – promising returns of up to 46 per cent. Instead of investing the money, Madoff used deposits from new clients to pay out profits to existing investors.
Newsdesk: Madoff likely to plead guilty to fraud charges 
People: Madoff 'close to a plea bargain'
G20 meet will see £50m tax bill
British taxpayers will be handed a £50m bill for hosting the G20 summit in London next month, reported the Times. The summit is the pinnacle of five months of "meticulous preparations" by Whitehall and has grown to include 35 world leaders, including 10 regional and financial bosses. They'll be joined by an additional 500 aides and advisers. Stansted and nearby military airbases are on standby for the arrival of the leaders, including US President Barack Obama. Since no new money has been allocated for the G20, costs will be scrapped from within existing departmental and police budgets.
Pundits demand action on banks as Obama and Geithner 'dither'
IMF: world in ‘Great Recession’
IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn warned that the global economy will likely contract for the first time since the Second World War, reported the Daily Telegraph. Strauss-Kahn added that "we've entered a Great Recession" and that recovery could be a long way off unless world leaders implement policies to bring their countries back on track. His gloomy outlook came as the UK's National Institute for Economic and Social Research said the UK economy had lost two years of growth and was now back to the size it was in summer 2006.
Bankruptcy beckons for not-so-great Britain
What happens when a western economy dies
Bernanke calls for joint action
The chairman of the US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke said leaders from the Group of 20 economies should coordinate action to prevent a repeat of the 1930s, reported the Independent. He called on the G20 countries to take "forceful" actions to restore the functioning of financial markets and the flow of credit. He also called for centralised oversight of the US regulatory system, special oversight of large banks that were "too big to fail" and for bank capital rules to be changed so that a buffer was built in good times to help institutions weather times of economic downturn.
What really scared Bernanke into action
...in brief..................
Moody’s names at-risk co’s; shareholders call for Grade to quit
Credit agency Moody's has named 283 companies it says will likely file for bankruptcy, reported the Guardian. The "bottom rung" list includes former US industrial giants such as Eastman Kodak, Ford and General Motors. Moody's says the companies have a 45 per cent chance of going bust in the next 12 months.......
Leading ITV shareholders say they would only support the television company's decision to issue shares if it was enacted by a new chief executive, reported the Financial Times. The calls for Michael Grade to step down came as ITV sounded out leading investors on its plan to reduce its £730m debt burden........
The Financial Services Authority is deciding whether to force insurer Pearl Group to cut its debt, reported the Times. Pearl took on at least £2.25bn in debt after it acquired Clive Cowdery's Resolution, the closed life funds group. The move comes as concern grows about the financial strength of the UK's insurance sector.......
China's exports fell a record £25bn last month, reports the Daily Telegraph. Exports fell by 26 per cent - the fourth straight month of declines - while Imports plummeted 24 per cent. Chna's trade minister said the outlook for the country was "grim", saying Europe was a particularly weak market.......
A new budget flight service from Europe to Asia launches today, reported the Independent. AirAsiaX launches its Kuala Lumpur-Stanstead service and has provided a "rare note of optimism" in the recession-plagued airline industry, which has seen more than 30 airlines declare bankruptcy this year.......
LGT Group, Lichtenstein's largest bank, is abandoning its secretive trust business in an attempt to distance itself from accusations it helps wealthy foreigners evade taxes, reported the Wall Street Journal. The principality is the latest European country to cave into German and US demands that tax shelters be shut down....
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