CURRENT NEWS ITEM: U.S. BANK FAILURES CLIMB TO 22

TOP - 50 RELEVANT BREAKING NEWS

1. UK councils at risk in Icelandic bank failures

   Dozens of local authorities are facing the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of pounds after it was revealed that many had sizeable deposits with the failed Icelandic banks Landsbanki and Kaupthing.

2. US warns of further bank failures

   The US treasury secretary warns some banks will still fail despite a $700bn rescue package, as Asian markets enjoy calmer trading.

3. After bank failures, sales of metal vaults surge

   Afraid cash isn't secure even behind the thick walls of banks, more people are turning to something that's protected money since the days of Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde: safes.

4. US Bank Failures Sit at 13 and Counting

   Every once in a while a decision made in a boring meeting at an unglamorous, fluorescent-lit federal agency signals that historic upheaval is underway for the world outside

5. Number of U.S. Bank Failures This Year Hits 22

   Federal regulators on Friday shut down two big thrifts based in Southern California, saying they fell victim to the acute distress in the housing market in that state.

6. Kuwait moves to prop up major bank

   Read full story for latest details.

7. The Little Bank That Could

   Remember how back in the day small banks operated with their community in mind? In Vermont, Michelle Miller found an example of how banks used to be, and for some, the way they still are.

8. Clearwater postpones buyback as Icelandic bank collapses

   A bank failure overseas has forced Nova Scotia seafood giant Clearwater Fine Foods to delay a buyback of publicly traded units in its income fund.

9. Burnaby RCMP put up cash reward for leads to bank robber

   Police are asking the public to help identify a man accused of robbing a bank three months ago inside a popular shopping centre in Burnaby, B.C.

10. Nick Clegg: Britain needs tax cuts – not just a bank bailout

    Yesterday's rescue of Britain's banks is arguably the most ambitious act of economic intervention by a post-war government. The magnitude of the rescue package is staggering: the £50 billion of capital plus guarantees of £250 billion equate to more than 20 per cent of UK gross domestic product flowing into banks which seem to soak it up like blotting paper.

11. Struggling Iceland takes control of third bank

    REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) -- Iceland's government has taken control of the country's largest bank as it struggles to prevent a collapse in its entire banking system....

12. Bank crisis is bypassing central and East Europe

    While consumer spending and growth rates are declining in the Czech Republic, Poland and other Eastern European countries, analysts say these trends are not related to the banking turmoil in the rest of the world.

13. News Analysis: British bank bailout marks a departure

    Britain's decision rolls back more than 20 years of accepted political and economic thought that held that financial institutions should operate with minimal government supervision and aid.

14. Bank of America, Accused of Misleading Customers, Agrees to Buy Back Securities

    The company has agreed to buy back as much as $4.7 billion in auction-rate securities to settle charges that it misled thousands of customers about the risky investments.

15. Bank Crisis Is Bypassing Central and East Europe

    While consumer spending and growth rates are declining in the Czech Republic, Poland and other Eastern European countries, analysts say these trends are not related to the banking turmoil in the rest of the world.

16. Iceland: Too small to bank big

    Iceland plunged further into financial turmoil Wednesday as the country's third-largest bank went into receivership and the government abandoned attempts to put a floor under its free-falling currency.

17. Ulster Bank gets Irish guarantee

    The Irish government says it will extend its guarantee scheme to some non-Irish owned banks, including the Ulster Bank.

18. Councils have Icelandic bank link

    Northumberland and Gateshead councils confirm they have invested in troubled Icelandic banks.

19. £26m bank robbery trial collapses

    A bank employee is cleared of involvement in the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery after the trial collapsed.

20. US may follow UK on bank bail-outs

    The US could soon follow the UK down the path of using public money to recapitalise weakened financial institutions in return for preference shares., a move that would emulate Warren Buffett's investments in Goldman Sachs and GE

21. Iceland suspends trading after bank seizures

    Iceland's stock exchange suspended trading in all shares after Kaupthing Bank, the island's largest lender, became the the third bank to be taken into government ownership this week

22. White House mulls bank ownership stakes

    News that the Bush administration is considering taking ownership stakes in a number of U.S. banks helped restore a relative calm over global financial markets Thursday.

23. Bank of Queensland reports $155m profit

    BANK of Queensland (BOQ) expects to grow faster than its competitors as it focuses on increasing deposits through its owner occupied branches, after full-year normalised profit rose 46 per cent.

24. Iceland nationalises third big bank

    ICELAND'S government has nationalised the country's biggest bank, Kaupthing, financial authorities said today, after the two other biggest banks were nationalised earlier this week.

25. Bank of New York Mellon to Buy JPMorgan Trust Bank

    Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire all shares in JPMorgan Trust Bank Ltd., a Japanese unit of U.S. financial giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. The deal is expected to close in the

26. Paulson considering bank injections: White House

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is "actively considering" capital injections into troubled U.S. banks, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said on Thursday.

27. British Bank Bailout: Is It Enough?

    Prime Minister Gordon Brown faces the tough job of restoring trust in a severely battered sector