Washington - The US government was preparing to take over and bailout the twin mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to a New York Times report late Friday that cited officials and company executives who have been briefed on the plan.

The two companies would be placed in a conservatorship, the Times reported. Such a move would be the newest shock to US finance markets as the country struggles with soaring mortgage foreclosures that have undermined the US economy.

Small and medium exporters alleged that some leading banks are implicating them to sell their forex derivatives.

Forex derivative are concerned with a financial contract bought by firms or individual to cover the risks due to the appreciation in rupee.

The leading banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, State bank of India, ABN Amro and others banks are accused for such tapering.

Karachi - Pakistan's central bank on Thursday said it was working closely with the government to restore economic stability amid rising rumours that the country might default soon on loans from its international creditors.

"The federal government and the central bank are working in tandem to restore macroeconomic stability," Shamshad Akhter, the governor of State Bank of Pakistan, said in an unscheduled statement.

Akhter blamed the prolonged political instability and rising international fuel and commodities prices for the country's financial difficulties.

Stockholm - Sweden's central bank Thursday raised the country's key interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 4.75 per cent in what bank chief Stefan Ingves said was a move to curb inflation.

London - The Bank of England Thursday left interest rates unchanged at 5 per cent, it said.

Amman - Jordan's reserves of hard currencies grew by 11 per cent in the first seven months of the year, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced Thursday.