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 [...]

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 [...]

A burst of selling in the final minutes of a volatile day of trading left stocks sharply lower yesterday as investors focused more on the deep strains in the economy than on a glimmer of optimism in a surprise gain in new-home sales.
Trading was light as investors awaited the beginning of the Federal Reserve’s two-day [...]

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, [...]

Amid the upheaval, big producers at investment houses are being urged by customers to move to independent firms
It was almost like the end of a marriage for broker Lori Van Dusen. After 22 years at Citigroup (C) managing client money, she decided it was time to leave.

Tags: Broker, customers, financial planning, houses, Morgan Stanley, [...]

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 [...]

The FTSE 100 dropped more than 5% in early trading today as fears of a global recession spread through the world’s stock markets.
The top companies’ index fell 211.6 points to 3868 - its lowest point for more than five years after Wednesday’s 7% loss.
Earlier the Japanese stock market suffered its biggest losses in two decades.
Tokyo’s [...]