Oslo- Norway's central bank kept its key lending rate unchanged at 5.75 per cent Wednesday, citing the "unusually high degree of uncertainty" in wake of the recent global financial turbulence.

Norges Bank deputy governor Jan F Qvigstad noted that "there are wide daily swings in money market rates, equity prices, the krone exchange rate and oil and commodity prices."

"It is difficult to determine how long this pressure will last and the effects on inflation and activity in the Norwegian economy. It is therefore appropriate to keep the interest rate unchanged now," he added in a statement.

New York, Sept. 24 : The Bush administration''s 700 billion dollar plan to bail out the American financial industry is being received with a great deal of skepticism.

Influential lawmakers in both the Republican and Democratic parties have demanded changes in the White House-backed proposal, and conservative Republicans have recoiled at the prospect of federal intervention into private capital markets.

Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said on Tuesday, "What they have sent us is not acceptable."

Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican, said, "We have got to look at some alternatives."

Hong Kong  - Panicked customers queued up Wednesday to withdraw their savings from branches of the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong as rumours circulated that the bank was facing financial problems.

The rumours were categorically denied by the bank's management, which nevertheless had to extend business hours by 30 minutes to cope with the queues of anxious customers.

The Bank of East Asia, owned by one of Hong Kong's wealthiest families, blamed "malicious rumours" that it said had been circulating in the market since Monday and questioned the bank's financial stability.

New Delhi  - About a million employees of India's public sector banks Wednesday went on a two-day nationwide strike to protest the government's policies in the banking industry and the delay in revising wages.

Conciliatory talks between the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) representatives and Chief Labour Commissioner SK Mukhopadhyaya in New Delhi on Tuesday failed to yield any results.

"Talks with the chief labour commissioner have failed and we proceeded with the strike," UFBU leader VK Gupta told the PTI news agency.

New Delhi: In order to protest against the government’s privatatisation policy, about nine lakh bank employees of 26 public sector banks would go on for a two day nationwide strike beginning today.

Earlier, the bank employees union and chief labour commissioner failed to come to an agreement.

Speaking on this, C.H Venkatachalam, convener, united forum of bank unions’ (UFBU) said, "The talks with the chief labour commissioner have failed and we are proceeding with the strike.” 

Mumbai, Sept 24: Over nine lakh bank employees are going on a two-day strike from today demanding settlement of issues like wage revision and termination of job outsourcing in banking sector among other things.

Normal banking transactions are likely to be disrupted across 50,000 branches, including about 15,000 branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) and its six associate banks.