WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are events and news reported Wednesday ET related to the financial crisis and other top news in the global financial system:

* International Monetary Fund directors are in disagreement on the question of the value of the Chinese yuan, with some arguing that calculations of the exchange rate are based on an uncertain outlook for the country's current account surplus. The disagreement was contained in the IMF's latest Article IV consultation on China and highlights how the row over Beijing's currency policy has reached the board of the multilateral lender, an institution over which Beijing has growing influence. [Repeated 07:12 ET]

* U.S. June durable goods orders were weaker than expected at -1.0%, marking their second month down, and suggesting that manufacturing is slowing. Excluding transportation, orders printed -0.6% and excluding defense -0.7%. Both suggest slower underlying orders. Ex-transportation orders are down in two of the last three months; ex-defense orders are down for the second consecutive month. [08:30 ET]

* Banks unexpectedly tightened credit standards in the second quarter, as the sovereign debt crisis affected their ability to obtain funding even while the economic recovery sparked a pick-up in demand for loans, the European Central Bank said in its July Bank Lending Survey (BLS), released Wednesday. Looking ahead, banks expect continued constraints on wholesale funding access. [Updated 05:28 ET]

* The results of the stress test, which the Committee of European Banking Supervisors conducted on 91 European banking groups, will not affect European bank ratings, said Moody's Investors Service says in a new report Wednesday. Moody's said the CEBS stress test results do not represent a surprise from a credit assessment point of view. Among other factors, the results are consistent with the rating agency's recent research, which had anticipated that most EU banks could absorb an economic shock without being required to raise capital. [05:37 ET]

* Standard & Poor's warned Wednesday that funding market conditions remain a difficult issue for the EU banking sector and said that those banks reliant on central bank assistance could face problems if this help is withdrawn in the near future. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services sees a wide disparity in asset quality across national banking markets and believes that European banks have muted prospects for earnings in 2010, owing to smaller lending volumes, weaker trading revenues than in 2009, and high loan losses. [07:28 ET]

* Fitch Ratings' senior fixed income quarterly investor survey Wednesday showed that European investors are becoming increasingly concerned over the ability of the EU's banks to refinance their maturing debt. More than one third of investors ranked investment grade financials as facing the greatest refinancing challenge over the next 12 months, Fitch said. [04:14 ET]

* It's right for the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to keep its foot firmly on the "monetary accelerator" in order to stimulate the economy, Governor Mervyn King told the Treasury Select Committee Wednesday. King also told the TSC that the MPC was facing a difficult judgement balancing the inflation risks, and it stood ready to move policy in either direction. King also said the recently approved U.S. Financial Reform Bill was heavily influenced by the banking lobby and UK lawmakers must not fall into the same trap. [07:20 and 07:11 ET]

* The U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly Refinance Index decreased 5.9% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2.0% from one week earlier and is the highest Purchase Index observed in the survey since the end of June. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.69% from 4.59%. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.12% from 4.05%. [07:00 ET]

* German consumer prices in July rose 0.2% in national terms and 0.3% in EU-harmonized terms, with annual rates standing at +1.1% for CPI and +1.2% for HICP, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) estimated Wednesday. Annual inflation was driven by higher prices for heating oil and motor fuel as well as by hefty prices hikes in some states for fruits and vegetables, the FSO said. Downward pressure came again from prices for gas and central heating. [08:00 ET]

* A credit crunch is not on the horizon in Germany, a survey conducted by the country's central bank revealed Wednesday. The results, released at the same time as the European Central Bank's quarterly Bank Lending Survey, said there was no need to fear that loans to non-financial corporations would tighten as the German economy turns around. [04:58 ET]

* The recovery in Germany is not being constrained by banks' lending practices, Germany's Ifo Institute reported Wednesday in its monthly credit indicator. Only 31.6% of surveyed firms complained about restrictive bank lending policies in July, compared with 34.0% in June. In July of last year, the credit hurdle reached its peak during the crisis at 45.1%, Ifo said. [05:00 ET]

* The Chinese yuan could rise or fall depending on domestic economic conditions and the country's international balance of payments, People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Hu Xiaolian said Wednesday. "If the price adjustment of production factors is rapid, then yuan appreciation pressure will be smaller. If the yuan is flexible, the pressure on rising production factor prices will be milder," she said in the article, the fourth to be posted on the central bank's website since July 15. [Repeated 07:12 ET]

* Australia's consumer price index rose 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the April-June period, bringing the annual consumer inflation rate to 3.1% year-on-year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. CPI readings for the first quarter were unrevised at +0.9% quarter-on-quarter and +2.9% year-on-year, the ABS said. [Repeated 07:12 ET]

* Bank of Japan board member Hidetoshi Kamezaki said on Wednesday that the BOJ must formulate monetary policy "proactively" in its continued efforts to guide the economy out of deflation and back to a sustainable growth path with price stability. [Repeated 07:12 ET]

* Inflation is the "main threat" to the Chinese economy in the current half of the year, and the central bank will need to adjust policies to drain interbank market liquidity and ease price pressures, a People's Bank of China official said Wednesday. [05:51 ET]

* In a move designed to encourage more at-risk borrowers to seek help with their mortgages, the U.S. Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Wednesday announced the launch of a nationwide public advertising campaign to increase awareness about the government's Making Home Affordable Program. [08:30 ET]

* The German Industry Association (BDI) on Wednesday harshly criticized the German government for its plan to scrap energy tax exemptions for manufacturers and agricultural firms in an effort to increase federal tax revenue by E1 billion in 2011 and E1.5 billion in 2012. The BDI head argued that the energy tax hikes will hurt German businesses' competitiveness in the global economy. [07:23 ET]

* The House voted Tuesday to approve a scaled-back $59 billion emergency spending bill that provides funds for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The House approved the bill on a 308 to 114 vote. More than 100 House Democrats voted against the bill because of their opposition to the wars and because it did not include some domestic funds that were in earlier versions of the bill. Since the Senate approved an identical version of the legislation last week, the bill will go to President Obama for his signature. [Repeated 07:16 ET]

* The White House announced late Tuesday that President Obama will meet with a group of small business owners in Edison, New Jersey Wednesday to discuss the economy and urge Congress to pass support for small businesses. [07:16 ET]

* The Bank of Mexico will likely reduce inflation forecasts Wednesday following three months of falling consumer prices and after Governor Agustin Carstens acknowledged that inflation proved lower than expected, economists predict. [Repeated 07:16 ET]

* Unemployment in France is on a downward path but there are still hurdles to clear, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in a radio interview Wednesday. [02:35 ET]

** Market News International Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **