CNNMoney.com - On a gloomy morning in early August, more than a month before Wall Street and the world’s financial system seized up, a senior aide to Iceland’s Prime Minister paid a visit to the Russian embassy in Reykjavík to make a controversial request: Bail us out.
Iceland had one of the richest economies in Europe, […]

Asbury Park Press - The end of the George W. Bush era brings some Grateful Dead lyrics to mind: "What a long, strange trip it’s been."
The first Bush term opened following the bursting of the tech bubble, which had been inflated by cocktail-napkin business plans for dot-coms. Stocks plummeted. The economy contracted dramatically in the […]

The Times and Democrat - In a record bailout of a private company, the government on Monday provided a new $150 billion financial-rescue package to troubled insurance giant American International Group, including $40 billion for partial ownership.
The action, announced by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, was taken as it became increasingly clear that […]

WBT - U.S. stocks appeared headed for a rebound Tuesday as investors awaited the start of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve that is widely expected to bring another reduction in interest rates.
The sharp rise in stock market futures contracts Tuesday was to be expected given the extreme volatility that has been the hallmark […]

Business Day South Africa - Examiners with the US Federal Reserve have questioned Wall Street counterparties about their exposure to debt and other holdings of Citadel Investment Group, The Wall Street Journal reported at the weekend.
Citadel denied the report.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the j ournal said the Fed questioned the counterparties in […]

Bloomberg - Credit markets have fallen so far that they are providing a "once in a lifetime opportunity," and investors are still selling.
Prices of loans rated below investment grade declined to a record low 66.1 cents on the dollar, virtually guaranteeing investors get their money back, based on historical recovery rates, according to data compiled […]

The Times of Trenton - Stocks prices fell sharply again yesterday, ending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index below 1,000 for the first time since 2003 on speculation banks and real-estate companies are running short of money as the credit crisis worsens.
Bank of America tumbled 26 percent after cutting its dividend in half […]

Washington Post - That is the technical economic term that best sums up a day in which the House of Representatives refuses to pass a $700 billion rescue plan pushed by the White House and congressional leaders from both parties, Wachovia is taken over in a deal that will have the government potentially owning 10 […]

Washington Post - Central banks in the United States, Europe and Japan will consider taking foreign-denominated assets as collateral in an effort to provide liquidity for battered financial markets, the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday.
Currently most central banks only accept assets denominated in their home currency as collateral, the paper said. If central banks were […]

Gotham Gazette - The turbulent financial market events of recent days demonstrably signal the end of Wall Street as we know it. More uncertainty lies ahead, on Wall Street but also for the national economy. How is this affecting New York and what will it take to get the economy moving again?
Six months ago, a […]

Reuters Tokyo - Japanese government bond futures soared by their daily limit of 3 full points on Tuesday and 10-year yields hit a five-month low on safe-haven buying in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Global stock markets and crude oil prices plunged on Monday after Lehman, crushed by losses from the U.S. mortgage […]

Portsmouth Herald News - The Federal Reserve resisted a cut in interest rates Tuesday and then forged a plan to take over American International Group Inc. and rescue the insurance giant from the brink of bankruptcy with an extraordinary $85 billion loan.
The moves, along with a slight rebound on Wall Street, offered some respite after […]