WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it would provide more relief to cash-strapped financial institutions in a coordinated action with other central banks, in an action aimed at easing a global credit crisis.

The Fed said it will make up to $200 billion in cash available to cash-strapped financial institutions.

“Pressures in some of these markets have recently increased again,” the Fed said in a statement. “We all continue to work together and will take appropriate steps to address those liquidity pressures.”

The other banks involved are the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank. The Bank of Japan issued a statement in support of the action.

In addition, the Fed has authorized increases in existing programs called “swap lines” with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank

“These arrangements will now provide dollars in amounts of up to $30 billion and $6 billion to the ECB and the SNB respectively,” the Fed said, extending the term of these swap lines through Sept. 30.

The new lending initiative “is intended to promote liquidity in the financing markets for Treasury and other collateral and thus to foster the functioning of financial markets more generally,” the Fed said. Its announcement said that securities will be made available through an auction process on a weekly basis beginning March 27.

The new program, called the Term Securities Lending Facility, is geared to provide primary dealers - big investment firms that trade directly with the Fed - with short-term loans. They would pledge other securities - including federal agency debt, federal agency residential-mortgage-backed securities - as collateral for the loans.

The loans would be made available through an auction process.

Auctions will be held on a weekly basis, beginning March 27, 2008.

The Fed since December has been making short-term loans available to banks through a new auction facility. It has provided $160 billion available to squeezed banks in hopes it will help them to continue lending to individuals and companies.

Last week, the Fed announced that it would increase the amount of loans it plans to make available to banks this month to $100 billion. At the same time, it said it would make another $100 billion available to a broad range of financial players through a series of separate transactions.

The Fed has been working to pump billions of dollars into the banking system to aid an economy rocked by the subprime mortgage crisis and the severe tightening of credit.

A meltdown in the housing and credit markets has made banks and other financial institutions reluctant to lend to each other, causing a cash crunch. Financial companies wracked up multibillion-dollar losses as investments in mortgage-backed securities soured with the housing markets bust. Problems first started in the market for subprime mortgages- those made to people with blemished credit histories. However, troubles have spread to other areas.

The picture worsened just after the Feds announcement Friday, when the Labor Department released a report showing employers slashed another 63,000 jobs in February, the most in five years.

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that it would provide more relief to cash-strapped financial institutions in a coordinated action with other central banks, in an action aimed at easing a global credit crisis.

The Fed said it will make up to $200 billion in cash available to cash-strapped financial institutions.

“Pressures in some of these markets have recently increased again,” the Fed said in a statement. “We all continue to work together and will take appropriate steps to address those liquidity pressures.”

The other banks involved are the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank. The Bank of Japan issued a statement in support of the action.

In addition, the Fed has authorized increases in existing programs called “swap lines” with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank

“These arrangements will now provide dollars in amounts of up to $30 billion and $6 billion to the ECB and the SNB respectively,” the Fed said, extending the term of these swap lines through Sept. 30.

The new lending initiative “is intended to promote liquidity in the financing markets for Treasury and other collateral and thus to foster the functioning of financial markets more generally,” the Fed said. Its announcement said that securities will be made available through an auction process on a weekly basis beginning March 27.

The new program, called the Term Securities Lending Facility, is geared to provide primary dealers - big investment firms that trade directly with the Fed - with short-term loans. They would pledge other securities - including federal agency debt, federal agency residential-mortgage-backed securities - as collateral for the loans.

The loans would be made available through an auction process.

Auctions will be held on a weekly basis, beginning March 27, 2008.

The Fed since December has been making short-term loans available to banks through a new auction facility. It has provided $160 billion available to squeezed banks in hopes it will help them to continue lending to individuals and companies.

Last week, the Fed announced that it would increase the amount of loans it plans to make available to banks this month to $100 billion. At the same time, it said it would make another $100 billion available to a broad range of financial players through a series of separate transactions.

The Fed has been working to pump billions of dollars into the banking system to aid an economy rocked by the subprime mortgage crisis and the severe tightening of credit.

A meltdown in the housing and credit markets has made banks and other financial institutions reluctant to lend to each other, causing a cash crunch. Financial companies wracked up multibillion-dollar losses as investments in mortgage-backed securities soured with the housing markets bust. Problems first started in the market for subprime mortgages- those made to people with blemished credit histories. However, troubles have spread to other areas.

The picture worsened just after the Feds announcement Friday, when the Labor Department released a report showing employers slashed another 63,000 jobs in February, the most in five years.

(03-11) 04:58 PDT SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (AP) —

A Santa Cruz County town has too much water.

The Scotts Valley Water District’s recycled water plant can produce up to a million gallons of irrigation water a day and it will be able to produce much more in the future.

But district general manager Charles McNiesh says there aren’t enough customers for all that water, which isn’t suitable for drinking. The agency has about 25 customers who irrigate landscaping with the recycled water.

The 106-home Vineyard Homeowners Association is about to come online and McNiesh says discussions are under way to add Pasatiempo Golf Club as a customer.

The Scotts Valley Water District gets its water from the Santa Margarita aquifer. The recycling plant began operation in 2002.

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Information from: Santa Cruz Sentinel, «www.santacruzsentinel.com»