CrazyCoder

Anglo Irish Bank has hired Morgan Stanley to advise on capital issues with the Irish group seeking to raise billions of euros. Anglo Irish Bank and Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the report.Morgan Stanley had approached a number of unnamed private equity groups with a view to securing a capital injection in Anglo Irish Bank.Analysts see it as inevitable that Irish banks will have to raise billions of euros in fresh capital to match the higher equity ratios of UK peers after a government bailout there.

Oil prices fell to their lowest point since May 2007 as investors were unimpressed by a decision from the world's largest oil cartel to slash production targets.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose member nations control about 40% of the world's oil, said it would cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day.U.S. crude for December delivery settled down $3.69 to $64.15 a barrel in New York. It was the lowest close for oil in more than 17 months. Prices hit an intraday low of $62.65 after news of the cut.

Halliburton Co. had swung to a net loss of $21 million in the third quarter, due largely to a nearly $700 million debt settlement. But the oilfield services provider said operating income topped $1 billion for the first time.The company's loss amounted to 2 cents per share in the July-September period, in contrast to a profit of $727 million, or 79 cents a share, a year ago.The year-ago results included a favorable income tax benefit of $133 million, or 15 cents a share.Oil companies hire service providers like Halliburton and Schlumberger for a variety of well-site jobs that can include seismic tests, directional drilling and reservoir management.

The UK government announced that it would inject up to 37 billion pounds of cash into major banks - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds TSB and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).RBS will receive 20 billion pounds from the government, while the merging Lloyds TSB and HBOS is to get 17 billion pounds. The UK government will take a 63 percent stake in RBS and 41 percent in the merged Lloyds TSB and HBOS, indicating that the government will become the major shareholder of the two banks.

Major retailer Aeon posted a group net loss of ¥16.01 billion when compared to a net profit of ¥23.81 billion logged last year.Aeon aims to close about 60 stores by February 2010 instead of the 40 projected as of July, admitting it expected tougher conditions ahead amid the global financial turmoil.It also said sales dropped particularly for clothing items.

Internet giants Google and Yahoo have agreed to delay implementing an advertising partnership to give the United States' Department of Justice time to finish investigating the proposed deal.The two companies are now in an indefinite holding pattern, raising more questions about whether the government plans to try to prevent the No. 1 and No. 2 search engines from cooperating. Google and Yahoo have vigorously defended the partnership, saying that it will have no impact on prices and that it is structured in a way to avoid antitrust concerns.

Crude oil continued to fall as the ongoing financial turmoil and economic slowdown exacerbated concerns that energy demand would drop.ight, sweet crude for November delivery fell 4.56 U.S. dollars to settle at 93.97 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar gained strongly against the euro on Thursday, which also helped to push down the oil prices.In London, Brent crude for November delivery dropped 4.80 dollars to 90.53 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.