The Federal Reserve lowered the benchmark U.S. interest rate by a quarter point to 2 percent and indicated it’s ready to pause after seven cuts since September.

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.

The United States Treasury Secretary this week proposed the most radical shake-up of American financial regulation since the Great Depression. Henry Paulson recommended that banking, insurance, and mortgage oversight be centralised and that the Federal Reserve should become a “risk czar."

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.

Citigroup Inc. plans to lay off an additional 2,000 employees from its markets and banking unit, and in this latest round of job cuts, senior investment-banking officials won’t be spared, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

The latest round of job cuts at the New York-based bank brings its layoffs since the mortgage crisis began to more than 6,000, or about 10% of the market and banking unit’s work force.

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.

Why should you invest?

To make more money, this is the answer to most people. If your reason is to make more money, then ask yourself these three questions:

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.

• Stocks and charts
• Portfolios
• Discussion Groups
• Quotes and Bonds
• International Finance
• Videos

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.

Flush with cash from going public and from strong growth at home, Chinese banks are now eyeing the U.S. It’s part of a broader push to become global titans offering a wide range of financial services. Top banks Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Merchants Bank applied with the Federal Reserve to open stateside branches this year but haven’t been approved yet.

• Read the original story here
• If the above link is broken, view our cached copy instead.