Top central bankers and regulators from 27 countries have agreed on new rules for central banking, according to The New York Times.

Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, said, "The agreements reached today are a fundamental strengthening of global capital markets." The agreement requires banks to raise the amount of common equity they hold to 7% of assets from 2%. Often known as Basel III, the group set a deadline of Jan. 1, 2013 for member nations to implement the rules.

The European Central Bank Thursday kept its key, short-term interest rate the same at 1%, a move investors in Europe and around the world no-doubt welcomed, for several reasons.

First, Europe's economy is nowhere near sustainable growth status: euro-zone GDP will likely to show a 3.7-4.0% contraction in 2009, and post only a modest increase in 2010 -- perhaps as low as 0.5-1.0% GDP growth. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet underscored as much. "We know we have a bumpy road ahead of us," Trichet said, Reuters reported Thursday.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet jolted the markets Friday with the announcement that the ECB will gradually withdraw the emergency cash injections it has added to the financial system, in order to prevent an acceleration in inflation.

"Not all our liquidity measures will be needed to the same extent as in the past," Trichet said at a conference in Frankfurt Friday, Bloomberg News reported. "Any non-standard measure whose continuation would pose a threat to the achievement of price stability must be undone promptly and unequivocally."

The resources of the central bank of the world's second strongest economy have now been marshaled to address the global financial crisis.

The European Central Bank, led by President Jean-Claude Trichet has shifted policy - - a remarkable, historic change - - and is now working in coordination with its companion major central banks - - the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and the Bank of China - - and others, to end a credit crisis that threatens to cripple international business and seriously damage economies, worldwide.

A legendary inflation hawk,Trichet, whose ECB lowered its key, short-term interest rate by 50 basis points in conjunction with the other major central banks on Wednesday, declined to rule out further steps to solve the crisis, including additional interest rate cuts, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

ECB: banks offered unlimited cash at 3.75%

Further, and equally significant, Trichet offered banks unlimited cash at 3.75% to help them cope with tight credit markets, Reuters reported Thursday. Previously, the ECB had offered funds to the highest bidders, a tactic that pushed average rates as high as 4.99% - - almost 75 basis points above the official rate.

In addition, the ECB cut in half the premium it charges for overnight emergency loans and increased the interest rate it pays on deposits, Reuters reported Thursday.

These days, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet isn't too popular in currency market circles, if one trader is any indication.

Trichet, a legendary inflation hawk, campaigned for and secured a quarter-point interest rate increase Thursday, to 4.25%, in the ECB's key, short-term interest rate, the refinance rate. Many economists thought Trichet's action was premature, despite Europe's 3.7% annualized inflation rate, and that it could spell further economic slowing Europe. Unbowed, Trichet plowed ahead.

With the above as a backdrop, many currency traders, Andrew Resnick among them, plowed ahead with euro-long trades on the calculation that a higher interest rate for the euro will cause the euro to rise. Resnick went long with the euro in the euro-dollar currency pairing.

But then what did Trichet do? He stated at the regular post-ECB rate decision press conference that he has "no bias" and that "we have no pre-commitment" to raise rates further - - signaling that one interest rate increase may be enough, Bloomberg News reported.

The result? The euro plunged versus the dollar after his comments: it fell 1.2 cents - - a large price move in the currency market - - to $1.5758 Thursday morning.

And with it plunged Resnick's profits for the day. All his trades were stopped-out for losses.

'Trichet is making many friends among traders'

"Trichet," Resnick said, "isn't making many friends among traders, and probably not among business executives and economists as well." Resnick followed his evaluation of Trichet's social standing with several candid and frank, descriptive, colorful comments about the ECB president that can't be published here. Suffice it to say that Resnick is not happy with Trichet's two-step.