THE FED TO CUT MORE RATES?

Stocks in Europe and Asia were up on september 26, 2007, led by banks on the speculation that the US Federal Reserve Bank will cut more Interest rates. According to Bloomberg, "HBOS Plc climbed in Europe after Goldman, Sachs & Co. added shares of Britain's biggest mortgage bank to its conviction buy list". Northern Rock Plc rose after the U.K. mortgage lender said it is in takeover discussions. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. and National Australia Bank Ltd. paced gains by financial shares in Asia, while General Motors Corp. and Alcoa Inc. led U.S. stocks higher in German trading.

Northern Rock jumped 6.1 percent to 173 pence. The company said in a statement yesterday after the market closed that it has received several approaches. The talks are at a preliminary stage and no price has been proposed, the Newcastle-based company said. It abandoned plans to pay a first-half dividend next month.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 374.73. National benchmarks advanced in all of the 18 western European markets except Luxembourg and Ireland. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.9 percent and France's CAC 40 increased 0.7 percent. Germany's DAX climbed 0.4 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2 percent to 16,435.74 in Japan. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.6 percent, reaching a record high.