Financial Update

Flaherty announces measures to stabilize lending industry
CBC News
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Friday announced new measures to ease pressure on financial institutions and stabilize the lending market, in an attempt to assuage concerns over the burgeoning global financial crisis.
Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa his government would buy $25 billion in insured mortgage pools from financial institutions for the purpose of maintaining long-term credit.
"This program is an efficient cost-effective and safe way to support lending in Canada that comes at no fiscal cost to taxpayers," he said.
Flaherty said the action would "make loans and mortgages more available and more affordable for ordinary Canadians and businesses."
On Thursday, Flaherty said he had no doubts over the health of Canada's banks, adding the government has no plan to undertake a massive government bailout similar to those mounted by the United States and other Western countries.