• The move by over 500 European banks to access long-term repo funding by the ECB is being well received by investors. The 489B euro injection of liquidity was initially cheered by markets. It remains to be seen if the borrowed funds will flow through to the European economy. The ECB may have simply funded a giant carry trade for banks. From the Financial Times.
• The U.K. hangs on to marginal growth in data released for third quarter GDP. The number was revised upward ever so slightly to .6% from .5%. The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to proceed with its quantitative easing program. From Bloomberg News.
• Bank of America agreed to pay a record $335 million to settle claims of unfair lending practices by its subsidiary Country Wide to the U.S. Department of Justice. The huge sum is a multiple of previous settlements, and reflects the extent of Country Wide’s role in the sub prime mortgage debacle. From Bloomberg News.
• A series of bombings killed at least 63 people in Baghdad today. The coordinated attacks, targeting mostly Shi’ite areas, will put additional pressure on an already fragile coalition government. From Reuters News.