The 700-billion-US-dollar bailout package being thrashed out in the US Congress is more likely to reinforce rather than curb the risky financial dealings of investment bankers, Australia's stock exchange head said Sunday.
Maurice Newman, the chairman of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), warned that the government paying top-dollar for worthless assets would worsen the predicament of Wall Street.
"The moral hazards which are being created in the United States right now - the idea that more oversight, more regulation, the automatic default whenever there's a problem will get you out of trouble - will only make the problem worse," Newman told local television.
"I think there has been an uncritical trust that is built up in the public investors' mind that come what may we will be all right. Well, there is no money-back guarantee, unfortunately," Newman said.
Canberra officials warned that taxpayers' funds set aside to breath life back into the residential-backed mortgage market would not exceed the 4 billion Australian dollars
(3.3 billion US dollars) committed last week.
"We don't have any plans to increase the amount that is involved," Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said.
The mortgage market has been in the doldrums because of the global credit crisis, sparking fears that second-tier banks and non-bank lenders will go bankrupt.
The Big Four high street banks don't have the same problems as their smaller rivals or the non-bank lenders because they raise their capital from customers' deposits rather than in the international credit market.
Shares fell 2.1 per cent Friday on the Seoul stock exchange on general recession fears. South Korea's won dropped against the dollar.
When the Spirit rover landed on Mars five years ago, no one expected it or its sister rover Opportunity to make it to their first birthdays, let alone their fifth.
Amelie Mauresmo fell victim to a leg injury after less than half an hour on court Friday to hand over a 4-0 victory which put French compatriot Marion Bartoli into the final of the Brisbane International.
Mumbai-based movie Slumdog Millionaire won five prizes Thursday night at the Critics Choice Awards, cementing its position as a surprise favourite just as the Oscar season moves into high gear.
After the Taipei Zoo received two giant pandas from China, another Taiwan zoo said Friday it is seeking to receive a pair of pandas from China.