The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) jumped 100 points, or 0.8%, the S& P 500 (SPX) rose 9 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) gained 20 points, or 0.6%.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-20/imf-said-to-be-winning-more-than-400-billion-in-fresh-funding.html

Govts committed more than $400 billion in fresh money to the International Monetary Fund to help it protect the world economy against deepening debt turmoil in Europe.

That sum is contained in the draft of a statement obtained by Bloomberg News which will be released by Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers after a meeting now under way in Washington.

Specific country contributions will be decided ahead of a Mexican summit of G-20 leaders in June, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said

teeth53 thot: Coming trading week is abit +ve  over abit -ve...much of pennies stk's is still in rotational play.

The worst may be yet to come in the global financial crisis as the central bank spending that kept defaults low runs out, according to Deutsche Bank AG. (DBK)

Credit-default swap prices imply that four or more Euro nations may suffer so-called credit events such as having to restructure their debt, strategists led by, said  Jim Reid and Nick Burns. The Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of contracts on 15 govts including Spain and Italy jumped 26% in the past month as the region’s crisis flared up.

“If these implied defaults come vaguely close to being realised then the next five years of corporate and financial defaults could easily be worse than the last five relatively calm years,” the analysts in London said.

“Much may eventually depend on how much money-printing can be tolerated as we are very close to being maxed out fiscally.”

European banks could be forced to sell as much as $3.8 trillion in assets through 2013 and curb lending if governments fall short of their pledges to stem the sovereign debt crisis or face a shock their firewall can’t contain, the International Monetary Fund said.

So far, deleveraging has occurred predominantly through buttressing capital positions and reducing non-core activities, leaving the impact on the rest of the world manageable,” the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report released today. “It is essential to continue to avoid a synchronized, large-scale, and aggressive trimming of balance sheets that could do serious damage to asset prices, credit supply, and economic activity in Europe and beyond.”

teeth53: Who got so much $$$ to buy ??. is like doing a fire sales, (cheap sales...lelong, lelong...arrghh)

BTIG was the latest firm to downgrade the tech giant's stock last week over concerns on the iPhone's pricing and the ability of customers to upgrade. Adding to woes, the Department of Justice sued Apple and five publishers, saying they colluded on ebook pricing.

" We believe this could be a simple " collapsing" on its own weight given the year-to-date move," wrote Brian Marshall, analyst at ISI Group, referring to Apple's decline.

techs slumped, dragged by Apple [AAPL  580.13    -25.10  (-4.15%)   ] and Google [GOOG  606.07    -18.53  (-2.97%)   ] .

Too Big To Fail?  Apple looks unstoppable. But investors need to look at the graveyard of once-dominant firms to see how far giants can fall.

While Nokia lost ground, (once a handphone giant). http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/nokia-warns-losses-first-two-132025641.html

Federal deficit so far: $777 billion

While that's quite a large number, it's actually $53 billion less than the same period last year, when the deficit totaled $829 billion.

Stocks: Keep Calm and Carry On?

Japan resumes capital punishment

Toa Payoh flat sold after just 3 years SOLD $894,000.00 ???

THE sale of a three-year-old five-room flat in Toa Payoh last month raised some eyebrows and caused a buzz online.

Netizens wanted to know why the owner was able to sell the flat just three years after its completion.

They were also excited by the price it was sold for.

The flat, located between the 36th and 40th storeys of Block 79C in Toa Payoh Central, had fetched $894,000 - a record for the Toa Payoh area.

It meant that the flat's seller sold the flat for more than twice the amount he paid for it - which would have cost him less than $400,000.