The Treasury Dept. is steering away from the original intent of buying questionable mortgage-related securities—much to the chagrin of Wall Street
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson signaled a significant shift on Nov. 12 in how the Bush Administration aims to apply the remaining $400 billion available under the federal government’s bailout plan, saying the department would [...]

Banks may be required to offer interest rate relief for strapped homeowners. But it’s unclear who will qualify and if the plan would put a dent in foreclosures
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Treasury Dept. are working on a major program to prevent widespread foreclosures that would include government guarantees of home mortgages.
The [...]

WASHINGTON
A day after the Federal Reserve slashed a key interest rate to battle an economic downturn, the government reported Thursday the economy did shrink in the summer, sending the strongest signal yet that a recession may have already begun.
The Commerce Department reported that the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic health, fell at [...]

Could the volume—and tone—of TV, Web, and print coverage of the market’s gyrations actually be making things worse?
Wall Street has been through crises before—1907, 1929, the 1970s, and 1987 all tested investors as much as the financial crisis of 2008. But this time, something is different: Three cable business channels and countless web sites offer [...]

Goldman Sachs is to shed 3,260 jobs worldwide - about 10% of its workforce.
A spokesman for the company could not say where the cuts would be made.
The axe would fall “throughout the New York-based company,” the Wall Street Journal reported
In September, tycoon Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy $5bn of stock in the Wall [...]

Shares have plunged in Asia on growing fears of a global recession.
Japan’s Nikkei tumbled more than 7% at one point, hitting levels last seen in May 2003.
It recovered some of the losses to end down 2.46% amid hopes of a bounce on Wall Street later in the day.

Tags: Credit Crunch, Financial Crisis, global recession, recession, [...]

The coming blitz of quarterly results may leave investors more confused than ever about the outlook for corporate profits and the economy
For stock investors, this earnings season is turning into the lost quarter.
This month, companies began unveiling their results from the 2008 third quarter, which included July, August, and September. And the next couple [...]

Think of the current market and economic turmoil as a disaster by committee, with blunders by government officials, Wall Street pros, and regular Americans alike
Tune in to Anderson Cooper on CNN and watch as he counts down the “10 Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse.” Pick up the New York Post and read about [...]

Now that the third debate is over where does this race stand?
John McCain and Barack Obama both had to win the middle - the 10 percent of undecided moderate voters.

Tags: Barack Obama, Financial, Financial Crisis, John McCain