LONDON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- While stock market speculators were banned Thursday night from making profit from the falling share prices of banks and insurance companies, British financial authorities blame bankers for the current financial crisis.

    The Financial Services Authority (FSA) unveiled an immediate crackdown on the activities of hedge funds and other speculators after Prime Minister Borden Brown said the financial system needed to be cleaned up.

    The government fears that other banks may collapse if speculators are allowed to continue their activities unchecked.

    Meanwhile, the FSA blamed bankers for exacerbating the crisis in the financial markets because they were "taking too many risks."

    Callum McCarthy, the FSA chairman, was quoted by the Daily Telegraph on Friday as saying that bankers must learn the lessons of the financial crisis and prevent it from happening again.

    McCarthy said that they needed to apply "greater realism" in their capabilities.

    "The present troubles have exposed the fact that very many of the best-regarded among the world's financial institutions had risk management which was not up to the expectations placed upon it," he said.

    Banks must "understand the limitations, as well as the strengths, of ratings," he said, warning that they should also "recognize that failures to conduct due diligence will have a price."

    McCarthy's comments came as it emerged that Andy Hornby, the chief executive of the crisis-hit bank HBOS, was to receive shares worth almost 2 million pounds (3.6 million U.S. dollars) in Lloyds TSB following Thursday's emergency takeover.

    The head of Britain's biggest mortgage lender will get a multi-million pound stake in the new bank despite HBOS having to be rescued from the brink of collapse.

    Harriet Harman, the Labor deputy leader, said the public were furious at the amount some people in the City were paid.

    Hornby, 41, is also expected to continue to be employed by the new "mega-bank." Staff, however, were told that it was inevitable that thousands of jobs would go at the merged company and 600 branches might close.

    Financial specialists have told house buyers to expect higher mortgage rates as a result of the deal, with HBOS expected to raise some of its lending rates.

    Company documents show that Hornby owns 1.01 million HBOS shares, mostly bought using bonuses paid when the bank was successful.

Feature: Wall Street at crossroads

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange September 15, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    NEW YORK, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday, Sept. 16. It was meant to be a desperate day, especially for some people on Wall Street.

    Wall Street, in geographical meaning, is a long narrow street in the downtown Manhattan. At the intersection between Broadway and Wall Street stands the Trinity Church, with a green tomb yard spreading beside it.  Full story

U.S. stocks rally on possible financial crisis rescue plan

    NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street rallied Thursday as news the U.S. government is considering a more comprehensive solution to the financial crisis.

    Reports said that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is considering the formation of a vehicle like the Resolution Trust Corp. that was set up during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980's and early 1990's. Full story

Barclays to buy Lehman Brothers core business for $1.75 bln 

The exterior of the world headquarters for Lehman Brothers can be seen in New York, May 19, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Barclays Plc on Wednesday announced that it had agreed to a 1.75-billion dollar deal to buy bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's North American investment banking and capital markets businesses.

    The deal, which saves around 10,000 jobs on Wall Street, came two days after Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection after it was unable to find financing or fresh capital to shore up its balance sheet. Full story

U.S. Treasury announces debt auctions for central bank 

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday it will begin selling bonds for the Federal Reserve to help the central bank deal with unprecedented borrowing needs resulting from the current credit crisis.

    The first auction to raise cash for the Fed will take place later Wednesday and will be for a total of 40 billion dollars, according to Treasury officials. Full story 

Fed puts up $85 bln loan to rescue AIG 

   BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will lend an 85 billion-U.S. dollar-bridge-loan to American International Group Inc. (AIG) to save the country's biggest insurer from bankruptcy.

   The U.S. government, according a source quoted by the reports, is trying to rescue the troubled insurance giant to stave off a bankruptcy because if AIG fails, it could trigger a wave of problems for banks around the world, and could throw the global stock markets into the ugliest chapter of the financial meltdown. Full story

U.S. Fed holds key interest rate steady at 2%

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Reserve decided Tuesday to hold a key interest rate steady at 2 percent even as the collapse of the nation's fourth-biggest investment Lehman Brothers sent financial markets at home and abroad tumbling.

    The U.S. central bank has kept the interbank overnight interest rate unchanged at 2 percent since April to help the economy recover from a deep housing market decline and sharp lending pullback. Full story