Quick Overview

• In its efforts to stem the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve and Treasury created a new lending facility to help backstop the commercial paper market.
  

• The EU's Central Bank, Bank of England, and the Swiss National Bank injected $70 billion to the banking system to keep the sector liquid.
  

• Iceland nationalized its second-largest bank and is negotiating a loan from Russia to shore up the nation's finances. Meanwhile Russia unveiled an aid package for its own banks.
  
  
• Australia reduced its interest rate from 7.0% to 6.0% -- more than expected.
  

• U.K.'s manufacturing output fell 0.4% in August.
  

• Japan left interest rate unchanged at 0.50%.
  

• The DOE said average household heating fuel costs this winter will be 15 percent higher than last year.