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Chancellor Alistair Darling is to give new powers to the Bank of England to mount secret rescue operations for banks requiring emergency funds. for more click here

Has the Federal Reserve painted itself into a corner?

That’s one question on investors’ minds as central bank officials convene for a two-day meeting today to consider a further interest rate cut. The session comes as the Fed tries to walk a monetary tightrope: attempting to address concerns that the U.S. economy may be tipping into a recession without looking as if it is being pushed by panicky stock-market traders to take steps that could promote inflation. for more click here

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — Deadly suicide bombings are becoming an accepted part of daily life in Pakistan, with each new attack appearing to chip away at President Pervez Musharraf’s waning popularity. for more click here

Encouraged by their success in breaching the Egyptian border, Hamas has threatened a similar assault on the Gaza fence between Israel and the PA. for more click here

One third of Scots believe there is sometimes a good reason to be prejudiced according to a controversial report on the nature and extent of discrimination in Scotland. The co-authors of the report entitled Attitudes to Discrimination in Scotland: 2006 and published in December 2007, will be giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee this week.

Catherine Bromley and Professor John Curtice from the Scottish Centre for Social Research explored the Scottish population’s views in relation to all six grounds for which anti-discrimination legislation exists in Scotland. This covers age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. for more click here

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has completed its review of the ‘waiver’ of its complaints handling rules in the context of unauthorised overdraft charges. The waiver removes the obligation to deal with unauthorised overdraft charges complaints in the time specified under FSA rules. The FSA has concluded that the waiver is operating effectively and can remain in place. for more click here

A 37-year-old Birmingham man has pleaded guilty to plotting to kidnap and kill a British soldier.
Parviz Khan, an unemployed charity worker, intended to seize and behead the unnamed Muslim serviceman “like a pig”, Leicester Crown Court was told. for more click here

CAIRO — Egypt’s main Islamist party and other opposition groups are strengthening their appeal by using images of desperate Palestinians streaming out of the Gaza Strip to provoke wider protests against President Hosni Mubarak’s 26-year-old government.

Demonstrations in Cairo and throughout the country by the Muslim Brotherhood and other political groups ostensibly have been staged to declare Egyptian solidarity with the residents of Gaza. But they are also aimed at weakening Mubarak, whom the groups accuse of oppression and criticize for economic shortcomings and close ties to Washington. for more click here

SOME years after the Second World War, there were reports of Japanese soldiers found on distant Pacific islands refusing to surrender their arms, convinced they were still at war.

A similar problem is currently facing the Scottish Labour Party, if sources close to Wendy Alexander are to be believed. for more click here

I like to keep an eye on Spain at the moment. It’s a bit of a morbid fascination.

The economy is in the same or worse trouble than the US and the UK, but it has no central bank to fall back on to bail it out, and it can’t devalue its way out of trouble as the US is trying to do.

So what will it do? And what will happen to the eurozone when Spain does finally crack under the pressure? Who will bail it out?

Well, interestingly enough, it seems that Spain’s banking system is already being propped up by the European taxpayer, in much the same way as Northern Rock is being propped up by us British taxpayers.

The Europeans just don’t know about it yet…
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