US banks turn to Tokyo for help

By Francesco Guerrera, Henny Sender and Michael MacKenzie in New York and Krishna Guha in Washington

Published: September 22 2008 20:05 | Last updated: September 22 2008 20:05

The US financial system was shaken by fears that a $700bn government rescue plan might not be enough to end the financial crisis on Monday as the dollar sank, stock markets tumbled and once mighty Wall Street names turned to Japan to safeguard their future.

Morgan Stanley announced it was to sell a stake of 10-20 per cent to the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) in a $9bn deal. The news came just hours after Nomura, Japan’s largest broker, confirmed it was buying Lehman Brothers’ operations in Asia and was in exclusive talks to secure parts of its business in Europe.

(ft.com)