Markets morning briefing

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Thursday Feb 26 2009 FT.com - Financial Markets News Asset protection scheme boosts banks Feb 26 2009 08:51 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 » Asian stocks edge higher on bank hopes Feb 26 2009 03:30 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 » BofA stages turnround amid the gloom Feb 25 2009 21:49 Financial stocks swung violently as investors weighed economic data that underscored the severity of the housing crisis with some confidence that the government would not afterall nationalise key lenders and thus wipe out shareholders Read more » Sterling dented by talks on banks losses Feb 25 2009 22:33 The pound lost ground yesterday as investors focused on a potential announcement from the UK government over its asset protection scheme Read more » Gold's rebound fuels hopes of $1,200 mark Feb 25 2009 23:32 A strong rally by gold after initially dropping towards the $952 mark had analysts believing that the metal will continue to outperform other sectors Read more » Japan's exports down 45% Feb 25 2009 23:11 Japanese exports fell at their fastest rate in more than 40 years last month, as a rapid deterioration in global demand pushed the country's trade balance to a record deficit 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.