Toronto stocks dive as commodities retreat. The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index fell nearly 7 percent on Thursday to its lowest level in more than two years, battered by concerns over the outlook for fertilizer producers and a drop in oil and gold prices.

Citigroup falls on Wachovia-Wells Fargo deal. Shares of Citigroup fell 8 percent to $20.69 in pre-market trade after a merger deal was announced between Wachovia Corp and Wells Fargo & Co.

Congress passes bailout, focus shifts to fallout. The U.S. government enacted a landmark $700 billion bank bailout on Friday, but investors questioned whether it could contain a panic that began on Wall Street and spread to become a global financial crisis.

Asian stocks slide as Europe's financial crisis deepens. Asian stock markets suffered another mauling in early trade on Monday as doubts grew about whether a Wall Street bailout package will stem the global financial crisis, dealers said.

Asian markets plunge on fears crisis is spreading. Asian stock markets plunged Monday as investors took scant comfort from Washingtons passage of a $700 billion bank bailout and focused instead on deepening financial turmoil in Europe that threatens to slow global growth.

Mixed fortunes for bank stocks. Bank stocks have enjoyed mixed fortunes as Prime Minister Gordon Brown prepares for an emergency weekend summit with EU leaders to discuss the global financial crisis.

CEO of failed WaMu, 5 others leaving. The CEO of failed Washington Mutual and five other senior executives are leaving their positions soon.

Earlier talks with Citigroup have broken off. Wells Fargo says it is acquiring Wachovia in an all-stock transaction worth about $15.1 billion, as Wachovia ends talks with rival suitor Citigroup.

AIG plans sale of business units to repay debt. The insurer American International Group Inc. said Friday it plans to sell off a number of business units to pay off its massive government loan.

PM's Credit Talks Promise. Gordon Brown has said European leaders will do whatever necessary to ensure stability of the financial system as he joined an emergency summit on the credit crisis.

Cal Thomas: The blame game. THE BLAME GAME When Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to the floor of the House on Monday to blame Republicans for the financial turmoil and charge them with a laissez-fare attitude toward regulation, it seemed like a..

German government in crisis talks on bank. Germany's Finance Ministry convened crisis talks Sunday to find a new way to keep Hypo Real Estate AG afloat after a $48.4 billion bailout plan for the DAX blue-chip company unraveled over the weekend.

U.S. bank failures almost certain to rise in next year. Here's a safe bet for uncertain times: A lot of banks won't survive the next year of upheaval despite the U.S. government's $700 billion rescue plan to restore order to the financial industry.

What's Hot -- and What's Not. You don't top your peers every year for the past dozen years by adhering to conventional thinking. That, at least, is the reasoning of Rudolph-Riad Younes, co-manager of the remarkable Julius Baer International Equity A fund.

A Class-Action Settlement for Nearly Every Consumer. In a class-action settlement, the credit bureau TransUnion has agreed to provide free credit-monitoring services to millions of consumers to settle claims that it illegally passed along private information for marketing purposes.

Slip in Oil Creates Updraft for Airlines. Own oil stocks lately? Not good. Own airlines? Good. The misfortune of the one has been a blessing for the other. Since oil prices peaked on July 3 and started to head down, airline stocks have taken off, lifted by the promise of lower fuel prices. Of the 21 publicly traded airlines, shares of al..

When the Bank Closes Your Credit Account. Q I received a notice from Capital One that it is closing my credit card account because of inactivity. If the company closes the account, will it hurt my credit score?.

Buy in Times of Pessimism. I won't mince words: If I could buy just one mutual fund, it would be Selected American Shares. Chris Davis, one of Selected's co-stewards, is one of the wisest stock pickers in the fund business, and his words are worth heeding. And right now, Davis says, is a good time to buy..

Bailout Bushwhack. I don't know about you, but I'm still not convinced that the bailout bill that is being forced upon taxpayers is going to curb the economic crisis enough to be worth the $700 billion in debt that may be needed to implement it.

The Hedge-Fund Exodus Trickles Down. Big-money investors in hedge funds are fleeing the market just like the small guys. And as they demand their money back, hedge-fund managers are having to raise cash to meet the redemptions. It might seem like an offstage drama that shouldn't concern the rest of us, who don't play in that rarefie..