Reykjavik - Iceland's central bank on Thursday said it would keep its key interest rate at 18 per cent, after raising the rates at the end of October.

The central bank, or Sedlabanki, raised interest rates from 12 to 18 per cent on October 28. In mid-October it had cut the rates from 15.5 per cent to 12 per cent.

It said unemployment has risen "much faster" than it predicted in November. Registered unemployment measured 4.8 per cent in December and in January average unemployment was estimated to be over 6 per cent.

Stock analysts have maintained ‘buy’ rating on State Bank of India (SBI) stock with an intraday target of Rs 1134.

According to them, interested traders can purchase the stock on dips with a strict stop loss of Rs 1090. If the stock market remains on positive track, the stock pricing becomes more attractive, and reach above Rs 1155.
 

Wellington  - New Zealand's central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate Thursday by 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent, the lowest figure since the so-called official cash rate (OCR) was introduced in 1999.

It was the fifth time Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard has cut the rate since July after keeping it at 8.25 per cent - one of the highest rates in the developed world - for 12 months in a bid to contain inflation.

Madrid- Spain's second-biggest bank BBVA saw its net profit plunge by 18 per cent to 5.02 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) in 2008, the bank said Wednesday.

Recurrent profit, however, rose by 0.2 per cent, despite the global financial crisis.

The result was influenced by factors including early retirement payments at its Spanish operations valued at 602 million euros and losses caused by alleged Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff valued at 302 million euros, BBVA said.

Berlin - With the global economy in the grip of severe slowdown, a leading German banker warned Tuesday that parts of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) could face a major shakeout in their economies and banking systems.

"The economic crisis threatens to broaden out and engulf nations such as Ukraine," Juergen Fitschen, who called on the European Union (EU) and other key international groups to step up efforts to help shield more economically fragile parts of the CEE from the financial firestorm currently sweeping the world economy.

New York - John Thain, the former head of Merrill Lynch who resigned January 22 after record losses at the brokerage, will repay 1.2 billion dollars spent on redecorating his office last year, he told CNBC Monday evening.

Thain, 53, stepped down from the brokerage last week after it registered even sharper losses than had been anticipated. The former investment bank had already been brought up by Bank of America last year in an effort to save Merrill Lynch in the midst of the ongoing financial crisis.