BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's insurance regulator said on Wednesday it was evaluating the domestic impact of the turmoil in U.S. financial markets and would take active risk prevention measures.

    The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said it would closely monitor developments to protect the interests of domestic policy holders.

    On Monday, the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection.

    The third-largest, Merrill Lynch, was sold to Bank of America Corp. under pressure from U.S. regulators.

    The two Chinese subsidiaries of the largest U.S. insurer, American International Group (AIG), which was rescued by the U.S. government overnight, continued normal operations and was stable, CIRC said.

    The U.S. government agreed to provide an emergency loan of 85 billion U.S. dollars to save AIG from bankruptcy. AIG General Insurance Co. China and American International Assurance are the company's China units, which offer property and life insurance.

    Many mainland and Hong Kong insurance buyers rushed to claim their insurance premiums. An American International Assurance (AIA) official assured its business was independent in China and would not be affected by its parent company.

Major markets worldwide sunk amid U.S. financial crisis 

    BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The dramatic downward spiral events in New York continued to reshape the global financial system as major markets in America, Asia and Europe dropped sharply on Tuesday.

    The seismic shake-up on the global markets all came after the fourth largest U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch fled into the arms of Bank of America. Full story

China's central bank reduces credit interest rate, reserve requirement ratio

    BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank said on Monday it would reduce the benchmark loan interest rate and the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks to ensure a steady and rapid economic growth.

    The benchmark interest rate for one year yuan denominated loans will be adjusted down 0.27 percentage points from Tuesday, its first downward movement since October 2004.

Wall Street plunges amid U.S. financial crisis

Trader Jeff Feldman works in the S&P 500 pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, September 15, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    NEW YORK, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- New York stocks made landslide losses on Monday with Dow Jones shedding more than 500 points, as the U.S. financial turmoil battered investors' confidence in the health of economy.

    Lehman Brothers, the fourth biggest U.S. investment bank, filed for bankruptcy Monday after two most serious buyers Barcklays and Bank of America (BOA) withdrew from talks to buy the firm. New York-based Lehman, the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage securities, has lost 94 percent of its market value this year after record losses from investments tied to mortgages.

Lehman Brothers nears bankruptcy as buyers quit

    NEW YORK, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The fourth largest U.S. investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., prepared to file for bankruptcy Sunday after Barclays PLC and Bank of America Corp. (BOA) pulled out from talks to buy the firm.

    Barclays, the U.K.'s third biggest bank, and the BOA withdrew as they could not get guarantees from the government or other Wall Street firms to protect against potential losses on Lehman's assets.