NEW YORK - FEDERAL prosecutors and New York's attorney general are investigating the credit-default swap market.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced in a statement on Monday that the office is working with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in the probe. Mr Cuomo's office did the same.

The announcements came after The New York Times reported on the investigation in its Monday editions.

In its statement, the US attorney's office said its primary role would be to determine if any federal laws were violated.

In its own statement, the attorney general's office said it believes that these unprecedented times call for unprecedented levels of effort and cooperation to ensure that markets are stable, free of fraud, and purged of corruption. -- AFP