Markets afternoon briefing

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Thursday Feb 26 2009 FT.com - Financial Markets News Wall Street hopeful on Obama budget plans Feb 26 2009 14:05 Wall Street stocks were set to react well this morning to news that President Barack Obama will run up the largest deficit since the second world war in order to stimulate the economy and reform healthcare Read more » Yen hits fresh 3-month low against dollar Feb 26 2009 11:14 The yen fell to a fresh three-month low against the dollar on Thursday as figures showed Japanese investors continued to shun their domestic market in the face of a worsening economic downturn. Read more » Asset protection scheme boosts banks Feb 26 2009 14:39 Banks lit up the FTSE 100 on Thursday, as government plans to help free up funds for lending were well received. Hopes that news of the biggest loss ever made by a UK company represented the beginning of the end of the lending crisis saw financial stocks rise across the board Read more » European shares break four day losing streak Feb 26 2009 11:02 European shares rose for the first time in four sessions on Thursday after a slew of earnings figures from major German companies helped stir trading activity Read more » Oil gains but gold falters Feb 26 2009 12:12 Oil prices rose on evidence that Opec supply cuts were tightening the market while gold fell as investor inflows into gold exchange traded funds faltered Read more » Asian stocks edge higher on bank hopes Feb 26 2009 11:01 Asian stocks edged higher as investors bet government "stress tests" of US banks will bring the ailing industry closer to a fix, while the dollar extended its rally against the yen Read more » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe | Change your email address Change whether you receive this email as HTML or plain text | Forward this email to a friend Privacy policy | Advertise | Contact © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.