* Top bankers meet with BoE
* Euro shares fall on Credit Suisse profit warning and Allianz outlook
* OECD says U.S. growth halted, but euro zone steady

Britain's top bankers met with the Bank of England to try and ease tensions
in fragile money markets. The central bank pumped an extra $9.9 billion into
money markets but banks, facing their toughest period for over a decade,
believe it should do more. The industry was further shaken on Wednesday by
speculation that HBOS, the biggest UK mortgage provider, was facing liquidity
problems and its shares plunged 17 percent. HBOS slammed the rumours. The BoE
said no bank was in trouble and the Financial Services Authority warned it
will hunt out people spreading, what it called, "unfounded rumours".


Trader at Close Brothers Seydler, Oliver Roth, said that the markets were
still jittery.

OLIVER ROTH, TRADER AT "CLOSE BROTHERS
SEYDLER" SAYING:
"Price fluctuations will continue to exist. We will continue to see
negative figures as far as banking and finance is concerned. The difficult
economic situation in the United States will continue and this will have its
effects on the European markets sooner or later."

European shares fell as a profit warning from Credit Suisse kept credit
market woes firmly in the spotlight. Credit Suisse shares slid 5.5 percent
after the Swiss bank cautioned it was unlikely to be profitable in the first
quarter due to big debt writedowns. And Allianz fell 1.6 percent after the
German insurer gave a bearish outlook for this year and next, saying its goal
to increase operating profit by an average 10 percent had become more
difficult. And oil dropped below $100 per barrel for the first time in three
weeks on fears of the U.S. economy. The FTSEurofirst 300 was up slightly but
indices across Europe were in the red.

And fears over the strength of the U.S. economy are not unfounded according
to the OECD. It says U.S. economic growth is grinding to a halt, stung by what
could be the worst housing slump on record. 

JORGEN ELMESKOV, THE ACTING HEAD OF THE ECONOMICS
DEPARTMENT AT THE OECD, SAYING:
"The financial turmoil is obviously the most evident source of
headwinds in the current situation. It all started with subprime and the
financial products that were based on subprimes, but it has spread beyond its
origins and I guess there's a generalized sense of 'what's
next'?"

But the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said the
euro zone is faring relatively well so far but did sound the alarm over
inflation, signalling that the European Central Bank should not lower interest
rates. 


And online auctioneer EBay is restructuring its operations worldwide which
will lead to a one percent cut in global staffing levels with North America,
Belgium, Spain and Austria hardest affected. EBay says it's refocusing on its
core business.

Stefanie McIntyre, Reuters