Markets afternoon briefing

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Thursday Apr 09 2009 FT.com - Financial Markets News Pound slips after rate decision Apr 09 2009 12:05 The pound drifted lower on Thursday after the Bank of England's decision on interest rates. Read more » Banks keep FTSE steady after rate call Apr 09 2009 12:06 London equities held steady on Thursday, with banking stocks keeping gains after the Bank of England kept the cost of borrowing on hold at 0.5 per cent, in line with market expectations Read more » Solvay surges on pharma auction reports Apr 09 2009 11:25 Shares in Solvay jumped after reports the Belgian company would begin an auction of its pharmaceutical unit. Sanofi-Aventis had already approached the group about its drug division Read more » Oil and copper lead rally for commodities Apr 09 2009 11:42 Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel while a jump for copper encouraged a broad rally across the base metals sector. Gold remained below the $900 an ounce level but gains for platinum led palladium prices higher Read more » Asian markets hit three-month high Apr 09 2009 09:37 Asian stocks pushed back towards a six-month high as technology shares resumed their rally, while Japan's surprisingly big stimulus spending and signs of stabilising economic activity drove up government bond yields Read more » Japan unveils $154bn stimulus plan Apr 09 2009 11:27 The Japanese government should spend a bigger-than-expected 15.4 trillion yen ($154 billion) on economic stimulus, the ruling party said, causing bond yields to sink but boosting stocks in sectors seen benefiting from the higher spending Read more » S. Korea central bank hold rates steady Apr 09 2009 08:27 South Korea's central bank held interest rates steady at a record low for a second consecutive month, as expected, but said there was still room for more rate cuts 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.