REUTERS

Swiss franc hits two-year low as SNB cuts rates to negative

(Reuters) - The Swiss franc hit its lowest against the dollar in more than two years, and touched a two-month trough against the euro, on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank said it would introduce negative interest rates.

In a brief statement, the SNB said it would impose an interest rate of -0.25 percent on sight deposit account balances of over 10 million Swiss francs as it seeks to discourage safe-haven buying of francs.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/18/us-markets-forex-idUSKBN0JV04120141218

BLOOMBERG

PBOC Offers Loans to Banks as Money Rate Jumps Most in 11 Months

China's central bank offered short-term loans to commercial lenders as the benchmark money-market rate jumped the most in 11 months.

The amount of money made available by the People's Bank of China wasn't clear, according to people familiar with the matter. Policy makers are adding funds to the financial system to address a cash crunch as subscriptions for the biggest new share sales of the year lock up funds. Twelve initial public offerings from today through Dec. 25 will draw orders of as much as 3 trillion yuan ($483 billion), Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co. estimated.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/china-money-rate-climbs-to-nine-month-high-as-ipos-lock-up-funds.html

BLOOMBERG

Greece Fails to Gather Support to Elect New President

Greece moved a step closer to early elections after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed to gather enough support for his nominee in a parliamentary vote for a new head of state.

In voting in Athens yesterday, 160 lawmakers in Greece's 300-seat chamber backed Samaras's candidate for the presidency, Stavros Dimas, short of the 200 votes required in the first of three attempts this month. Samaras has 155 lawmakers in his governing coalition and failure to rally enough support for Dimas will lead to the dissolution of parliament.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-17/greece-fails-to-gather-support-to-elect-new-president.html