TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Investors rushed to bet on higher interest rates on Friday, dumping bonds on a conviction the world's top central banks were turning from nursing economies hobbled by a credit crisis to battling inflation.

LONDON (Reuters) - The financial crisis will affect market structure and pricing for at least a decade and lead to greater regulatory powers for central banks in areas at the centre of the turmoil, analysts at JP Morgan said.

A rough bit of Texas justice may well give the imperiled $19.5 billion Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) buyout another shot at life. A state judge ruled on March 26 that the six banks that agreed to finance the deal must honor their commitment, even though they stand to lose billions of dollars on the transaction. There's an important lesson in the ruling, too. At a time when central banks around the world are softening the blows of the credit market meltdown for institutions such as Northern Rock and and the JP MorganChase bailout of Bear Stears, the Texas court is upholding the concept of moral hazard. That concept holds that financial bailouts make investors complacent and thereby increase the probability of more reckless investment in the future.

NEW YORK -- Wall Street looked to extend its gains Wednesday as investors overseas applauded the move by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to pump more liquidity into distressed financial markets.

NEW YORK -- Wall Street looked to extend its gains Wednesday as investors overseas applauded the move by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to pump more liquidity into distressed financial markets.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Asian and European stocks rose Wednesday as central banks from the United States to Britain and Europe moved in concert to ease pressure on the world's credit markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve and four other central banks on Tuesday teamed up to get hundreds of billions of dollars in fresh funds to cash-starved credit markets, allowing financial firms to use securities backed by home mortgages as collateral for central bank loans.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rallied more than 3 percent on Tuesday, giving the S&P 500 its best advance since October 2002, after the Federal Reserve said it would add up to $200 billion to strained credit markets in a coordinated effort with other central banks.

NEW YORK -- Treasury prices sold off sharply Tuesday after the Federal Reserve and other major central banks unveiled a plan to offer up to $200 billion in Treasurys to cash-starved financial institutions.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve and four other central banks on Tuesday teamed up to get hundreds of billions of dollars in fresh funds to cash-starved credit markets, allowing financial firms to use securities backed by home mortgages as collateral for central bank loans.