Central banks act to calm markets

Central banks from Tokyo to Frankfurt injected cash into the financial system in a bid to calm markets still roiled by the demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The European Central Bank awarded 70 billion euros in a one-day money-market auction yesterday. The Bank of Japan added a total of 2.5 trillion yen ($24 billion) and the Bank of England pumped in 20 billion pounds. Counterparts in Australia and Switzerland took similar steps.