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Financial News

BOE Considered Bigger Rate Reduction When It Lowered Borrowing Costs to 3% Bank of England policy makers considered an even bigger reduction in the benchmark interest rate than the 1.5 percentage-point cut announced on Nov. 6 as their forecasts pointed to a deepening recession.

Stocks in Europe, Asia Fall, Paced by UBS, Rio Tinto; U.S. Futures Decline Stocks fell in Europe and Asia, led by financial firms and commodity producers, on concern the economic slowdown will cut profits. U.S. futures dropped before a report that may show consumer prices slid the most since 1949, heightening the risk of deflation.

Billionaire Merckle Family Said to Make Guarantees to Save Investment Unit Germany’s billionaire Merckle family, stung by losses on Volkswagen AG shares, made personal guarantees for the first time that may save an investment unit from insolvency and eliminate risks for other holdings, three people familiar with the situation said.

Russia Suffers Plummeting Reserves in Defense of Ruble as Growth Declines Russia's foreign-exchange reserves are draining fast and may take almost a decade of economic stability with them.

John Paulson Buys Mortgage Bonds as Hedge Funds Decline for a Fifth Month Money manager John Paulson has started buying beaten-up mortgage bonds as hedge funds stumbled for a fifth straight month.

Disclosure Demands for Credit-Default Swaps From Regulators Said to Climb U.S. regulators may require banks and insurers to disclose data about all credit-default swap trades to a central registry to boost transparency in the $47 trillion market, a person with knowledge of the talks said.

Bernanke's Cash Injections Risk Eclipse of Fed's Benchmark Interest Rate The Federal Reserve's efforts to rescue the U.S. from financial collapse risks the eclipse of the central bank's benchmark interest rate as the most important signal of monetary policy.

General News

Pirates Demand Ransom for Saudi Supertanker; Three More Ships Are Seized Pirates demanded a ransom for an oil- laden Saudi supertanker amid reports three other merchant vessels have been hijacked in one of the worst spates of attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the East African coast.

Holder as Attorney General Would Increase Clinton Aides Joining Obama Team President-elect Barack Obama repeatedly is turning to the Clinton administration for his Cabinet and staff, the latest example coming yesterday when Eric Holder emerged as the leading candidate for attorney general.

Clinton May Need to Pay Off $7.6 Million Debt Before Accepting Cabinet Job Hillary Clinton will face a financial decision if she is nominated as secretary of state: what to do about the more than $7 million in debts left over from her presidential campaign.

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