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Regulator relaxes Fannie, Freddie investment rules

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest sources of U.S. housing finance, can buy $20 billion more in subprime mortgages under rules unveiled on Wednesday to help revive a market crippled by tighter lending standards.

Asian budget airlines to soar above safety fears

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Asia's budget airlines are poised for huge growth, despite recent damaging crashes, as cheap fares and new planes lure millions of passengers who have more money to spend on travel and leisure.
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Fed move risks long-term pain for short-term gain

The Fed's "emergency" interest rate cut has reignited concerns that offering cheaper money as a solution to problems rooted in excessive lending and mispriced assets merely stores up problems for the future.
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European bank stocks gain

Shares in European banks rose strongly on Wednesday, driven by relief over a half-percentage point cut in U.S. interest rates, even though some analysts say the credit crunch which has battered stocks is far from over.
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Dollar recovers some ground

The dollar rose from a 15-year low against a basket of currencies on Wednesday as investors bet Federal Reserve's interest rate cut on Tuesday will help boost a slowing U.S. economy.
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Consumer prices dip unexpectedly

Consumer prices unexpectedly dipped 0.1 percent last month and new home construction hit a 12-year low, data on Wednesday showed, underlining concerns about the country's economic outlook. August consumer prices were pushed lower by slumping energy costs and posted their first decline since October, the Labor Department said, while core inflation rose as expected.
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D.Telekom's T-Mobile wins iPhone deal

Deutsche Telekom's mobile phone division, T-Mobile, said on Wednesday it won a deal to sell Apple's iPhone and said the price would be 399 euros ($558), as reported last week by Reuters.
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Stocks bolstered by Fed cut, dollar struggles

Global equities rallied on Wednesday after an aggressive U.S. rate cut allayed fears that a credit crunch which has plagued markets could drag the U.S. economy into recession, but the dollar suffered a blow. The dollar struck a 15-year low against a basket of currencies after the Fed rate cut eroded the yield appeal of the U.S. currency. The weakness of the dollar pushed gold prices to 16-month highs.
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Food firms want binding rules for safe imports

Top U.S. food companies, worried recent import scares may turn away customers, launched a plan on Tuesday to add teeth to existing safety guidelines and increase funding for bare-bones federal regulators.
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Recalled Mattel toys topped U.S. legal lead limits

Toymaker Mattel Inc's recent recalls involved toys that had nearly 200 times the amount of lead in paint as allowed by U.S. law, the company said in a letter released to a congressional subcommittee on Tuesday.
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Northern Rock woes reminder of bank runs threat

Banks have always lent out more than their clients have on deposit but just once in a while savers lose trust and demand all their money back, exposing one of the optical illusions at the heart of finance.
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Oil climbs near record above $82 after Fed rate cut

Oil rose above $82 a barrel on Wednesday, closing in on a record hit the previous day after the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate cut raised expectations of still robust energy demand in the world's top consumer.
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Apple iPhone Storms Europe

Apple Inc. will start selling its popular iPhone smart-phone in the U.K with the Spanish-owned service provider O2, bringing the firm's highly-coveted device to Europe for the first time.
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Two-Year treasuries up, ten-year notes drop on Fed rate cut

Two-year treasury notes rose as and ten-year securities fell on Tuesday following the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement that it would cut it's benchmark interest rates to prevent the U.S. economy from slowing too much even as some signs of inflation remain.
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July Capital Inflows Slip to New Low

International investors bought $19.2 billion in long-term U.S. securities in July, the lowest inflow in seven months, the Treasury Department said on today.
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U.S Producer Prices Slip in Aug.

Prices paid to U.S producers fell sharply in August according to data released on Tuesday, painting a gloomy picture for U.S growth.
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Halo no longer just a game for Microsoft

Microsoft Corp wants video gamers to finish the fight when the last chapter of its Halo trilogy comes out next week, but a carefully crafted merchandising strategy will make sure Master Chief lives on for years to come.
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Growing pains dim India's outsourcing edge

Indian outsourcing companies are shifting some of their operations to China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Kenya in a bid to stay competitive as higher wages, expensive property prices and a rising rupee eat into profits.
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Home builder confidence drops more in Sept: NAHB

Home builder sentiment fell for a seventh straight month in September as tougher mortgage requirements hindered sales from bloated inventories, the National Association of Home Builders said on Tuesday.

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