SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities ordered some big banks to curb lending for the rest of January, intensifying their efforts to prevent the world's third-largest economy from overheating.
The news on Wednesday weighed down stocks in Asia and Europe and oil fell toward $78 a barrel on fears that demand in China, the world economy's main source of growth, may now slow down as authorities tighten policy.
China's central bank told some banks, including Citic Bank (HKSE:0998.HK - News) and Everbright Bank (EVRBK.UL), to increase their reserve requirement ratio by half a percentage point, banking sources told Reuters.
