European and Asian markets stabilize; central banks offer coordinated rate cuts; will credit crunch spur a wave of protectionism?; S. Korea and Japan to reopen security talks; snap election in Ukraine; and more
Top of the Agenda: Finance, Looking Ahead
European and Asian markets stabilized today, showing limited gains (Bloomberg) following unprecedented coordinated interest rate cuts by many of the world's major central banks. Russian shares, which had suffered worse losses than any major market, gained 17 percent, giving a boost to several emerging market indices.
Asian central banks bolstered markets by making coordinated interest rate cuts (AP), one day after the United States and Europe launched their own wave of cuts. The Economist looks at the implications of many central banks acting in unison.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury said it is considering ways to inject capital directly into banks, perhaps by taking stakes in them to shore up their capital reserves (WSJ). The New York Times says the Treasury hopes such a move would spur bank lending, which has frozen over the past couple weeks.
Analysts are also starting to look ahead to what the long-term implications of the current crisis might be. In a new interview with CFR.org, Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, discusses the potential geopolitical fallout of the crisis and says the greatest risk is that it will spur a wave of global protectionism. In the new CFR Forum, experts debate what the crisis means for U.S. power.
Pacific Rim: Thai Protests
Thai officials said they would drop the most serious charges (Bangkok Post) facing leaders of recent widespread anti-government protests in Bangkok, potentially opening the door for the demonstrators to surrender to police.
South Korea-Japan: Yonhap reports Seoul and Tokyo will reopen high-level security talks, alongside the United States, following a period of tense bilateral relations.
Elsewhere
News reports indicate Russia will not sell anti-aircraft system to Iran.
Ukraine headed for snap elections December 7.
This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.