[Azure]

LONDON (AP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown says leaders at the G-20 summit have agreed to give $1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to help struggling nations around the world.

Brown also says the 20 countries at the summit will enact common policies to crack down on tax havens, regulate hedge funds, and rebuild trust in the financial system to "prevent a crisis such as this from happening again."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

HONG KONG (AP) - World stock markets soared Thursday, with Hong Kong's benchmark vaulting more than 7 percent, as stronger-than-expected U.S. economic figures boosted confidence the world's largest economy is on the mend.


Huge gains in Asia and a strong open in Europe followed an overnight surge on Wall Street and extended last month's rebound in world equity markets amid tentative signs of stabilization in the hard-hit global economy and banking industry. It came as Group of 20 leaders met in London for a summit that aims to hammer out policies to combat the economic slump and reform the global financial system.


Nearly every sector in Asia charged higher, with carmakers like Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) rallying on U.S. auto figures that were less dismal than feared. Exporters such as Sony Corp. (SNE) were lifted by the weakening yen.


Investors were encouraged after U.S. car sales jumped by nearly 25 percent last month from February, beating the typical rise and underpinning hopes of a turnaround in the American auto market - critical for Asia's giant auto companies.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090402/D97A9NC03.html

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks jumped on Thursday as changes in bank accounting rules boosted optimism the financial system may stabilize in the short term, while world leaders agreed on measures to fight the recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) gained 250.41 points, or 3.23 percent, to 8,012.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) jumped 25.86 points, or 3.19 percent, to 836.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) spiked 54.27 points, or 3.50 percent, to 1,605.87.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wall-S...-14832575.html

Oil also jumped almost $4.25 to $52.64/bbl.

http://www.oil-price.net/