The world's major central banks unleashed coordinated action Wednesday to ease the increasing strains on the global financial system, a move that sent stock markets up sharply. 
 
 The European Central Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland are all taking part in the operation, which is designed to "enhance their capacity to provide liquidity support to the global financial system." 
 
 The ECB said in a statement the banks are making it cheaper for banks to get U.S. dollar liquidity when they need it, starting next Monday. They are also taking steps to ensure banks can get ready money in any currency if market conditions warrant. 
 
 Stocks surged following the news. Germany's DAX was trading 4 percent higher as were Dow futures in New York. 
 
 The financial system has been showing signs of entering another credit crunch as Europe's debt crisis has shown alarming signs of spreading. ||||| International Business Machines said revenue fell 3.5% in the fourth quarter, another setback in its yearslong quest to recapture growth, but its signal that faster-growing businesses would help boost profit this year sent shares higher. ||||| The world's major central banks made it easier Wednesday for banks to get dollars if they need them, a coordinated move to ease the strains on the global financial system. Stock markets rose sharply on the move. 
 
 The European Central Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the central banks of Canada, Japan and Switzerland are all taking part in the operation, which is designed to "enhance their capacity to provide liquidity support to the global financial system." 
 
 The European Central Bank said in a statement the central banks were making it cheaper for banks to get U.S. dollar liquidity when they need it, starting next Monday. They are also taking steps to ensure banks can get ready money in any currency if market conditions warrant by establishing a temporary network of reciprocal swap lines. 
 
 The ECB said the central banks have agreed to reduce the cost of temporary dollar loans to banks _ called liquidity swaps _ by a half percentage point. The new, lower rate will be applied to all central bank operations starting on Monday. 
 
 Stocks surged following the news. Germany's DAX was trading 4 percent higher as were Dow futures in New York. 
 
 The financial system has been showing signs of entering another credit crunch like the one in 2008 as Europe's debt crisis has shown alarming signs of spreading. The possibility that one or more European governments might default on debt have raised fears of a shock to the global financial system that would lead to severe losses for banks and a contraction in lending. 
 
 Fears of more financial turmoil in Europe have already left some European banks dependent on central bank loans to fund their daily operations. Other banks are wary of lending to them for fear of not getting paid back. 
 
 Such constraints on interbank lending can hurt the wider economy by making less money available to lend to businesses. ||||| For release at 8:00 a.m. EST 
 
 The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, and the Swiss National Bank are today announcing coordinated actions to enhance their capacity to provide liquidity support to the global financial system. The purpose of these actions is to ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity. 
 
 These central banks have agreed to lower the pricing on the existing temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap arrangements by 50 basis points so that the new rate will be the U.S. dollar overnight index swap (OIS) rate plus 50 basis points. This pricing will be applied to all operations conducted from December 5, 2011. The authorization of these swap arrangements has been extended to February 1, 2013. In addition, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank will continue to offer three-month tenders until further notice. 
 
 As a contingency measure, these central banks have also agreed to establish temporary bilateral liquidity swap arrangements so that liquidity can be provided in each jurisdiction in any of their currencies should market conditions so warrant. At present, there is no need to offer liquidity in non-domestic currencies other than the U.S. dollar, but the central banks judge it prudent to make the necessary arrangements so that liquidity support operations could be put into place quickly should the need arise. These swap lines are authorized through February 1, 2013. 
 
 Federal Reserve Actions 
 
 The Federal Open Market Committee has authorized an extension of the existing temporary U.S. dollar liquidity swap arrangements with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank through February 1, 2013. The rate on these swap arrangements has been reduced from the U.S. dollar OIS rate plus 100 basis points to the OIS rate plus 50 basis points. In addition, as a contingency measure, the Federal Open Market Committee has agreed to establish similar temporary swap arrangements with these five central banks to provide liquidity in any of their currencies if necessary. Further details on the revised arrangements will be available shortly. 
 
 U.S. financial institutions currently do not face difficulty obtaining liquidity in short-term funding markets. However, were conditions to deteriorate, the Federal Reserve has a range of tools available to provide an effective liquidity backstop for such institutions and is prepared to use these tools as needed to support financial stability and to promote the extension of credit to U.S. households and businesses. 
 
 Information on Related Actions Being Taken by Other Central Banks 
 
 Information on the actions to be taken by other central banks is available on the following websites: 
 
 Bank of Canada 
 
 Bank of England 
 
 Bank of Japan (PDF) 
 
 European Central Bank 
 
 Swiss National Bank (PDF) 
 
 Frequently Asked Questions: U.S. Dollar and Foreign Currency Liquidity Swaps 
 
 For media inquiries, call 202-452-2955.
– Central banks around the world plan to ease the strain on the global financial system by taking coordinated action to prevent a lack of liquidity, they announced in a statement this morning—news that sent stock futures soaring more than 250 points. The Bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank join the Fed in the moves, which the AP reports will, as of next Monday, "reduce the cost of temporary dollar loans to banks—called liquidity swaps—by a half percentage point." NPR explains that'll make it easier for financial institutions to get cash, which they'll hopefully then lend at reduced interest rates. The AP reports that these central banks are also working to shore up banks' ability to ready money in any currency if market conditions warrant, though "at present, there is no need to offer liquidity in non-domestic currencies," the Fed's statement noted. "The purpose of these actions is to ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity," explained the Fed.