Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Department is considering using more of its $700 billion rescue fund to buy stakes in a broad range of financial companies, not just banks and insurers, after tentative signs of the program's success, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Australian central bank slashed its key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point rather than the half-percentage point that had been expected.

Australia's central bank cuts its key interest rate from 6% to 5.25% in an attempt to boost the economy and avert a recession.

Switzerland's largest bank UBS reports a profit for the third quarter of 2008 but warns of tough times ahead.

Half-year profits at Marks and Spencer fall 34% as the weakening economy takes its toll on consumer confidence.

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RBS unveils further write-downs on assets hit by the credit crunch as it takes emergency cash from the government.

Reuters - A U.S. judge sentenced a former UBS AG executive to 6-1/2 years in prison on Monday for his role in what prosecutors called the most pervasive insider trading ring since the 1980s.

Reuters - UBS AG , one of Europe's banks hardest-hit by the financial crisis, said accounting effects would weigh on fourth-quarter results but it had seen some encouraging signs of client money flows in October.

After reporting a net profit of 296 million Swiss francs ($252 million), compared with a year-earlier loss of 858 million francs, the Swiss banking giant gave a gloomy forecast for the rest of the year.

The price of Brent crude oil falls below $60 a barrel for the first time in 20 months, amid fears of a recession in the US.

RBS signals it expects to make its first annual loss as it makes further write-downs on assets hit by the credit crunch.

UK savers in the collapsed Icesave internet bank are being sent emails telling them how they can get their money back.

AP - Britain's largest clothing retailer, Marks & Spencer, on Tuesday posted a 43 percent fall in net profit for the first half of the year as the company cut prices to keep consumers coming through the doors despite the looming recession.

The Australian central bank slashed its key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point rather than the half-percentage point that had been expected.

German luxury carmaker BMW sees quarterly profits fall because of the global slowdown and says it cannot forecast future results.

The price of Brent crude falls below $60 a barrel for the first time in 20 months before edging up, though demand concerns remain.

Swiss Re, one of the biggest reinsurers in the world, reports a surprise loss, hurt by the global financial crisis.

Mastercard, one of the leading card networks, has reported a quarterly loss due to a big legal charge.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari arrives in Saudi Arabia on a two-day visit to seek assistance for his cash-strapped country.

Heathrow Airport operator BAA announces £230m of funding for the £16bn Crossrail route to run through central London.

The Bank of England has been urged by MPs to cut interest rates, passing on the benefits to customers.

Reuters - Stock futures pointed to a higher start on Wall Street on Tuesday as Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain face the verdict of U.S. voters.

Reuters - BMW abandoned its 2008 earnings forecast and cut production on Tuesday after a 60-percent plunge in quarterly profit that underscored slowing sales in the troubled autos industry.

The food processor and ethanol producer said its first-quarter earnings more than doubled, beating Wall Street estimates, helped by an accounting change and higher selling prices.

Brazilian planemaker Embraer reports a big fall in profits, after Brazil's currency declines sharply against the dollar.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Tuesday as Americans began voting in the race for the White House, while an interest rate cut from Australia raised hopes of further aggressive global moves to ease an economic slowdown.

Reuters - UBS AG said a state bailout was helping stem client money outflows, but it needed stable markets to revive its key wealth management business and could take a 6 billion Swiss franc ($5.13 billion) accounting hit this quarter.

Reuters - Blackstone Group LP Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman called for greater common oversight of the world's financial system to help extricate it from 'the worst financial crisis in recent memory.'

Reuters - Walgreen Co on Tuesday said October sales at stores open a least a year rose 2 percent, slightly less than the preliminary rise of 2.2 percent it reported last week, before the month had ended.

Investors seemed to be in a buying mood as the markets opened in New York and millions of Americans went to the polls.

Factory orders dropped more than expected in September as companies cut back on purchases of steel, computers and other equipment amid the economic downturn, the government reported.

BHP Billiton said that European regulators had highlighted antitrust problems with its hostile bid for Rio Tinto, a merger that would create the world?s largest iron ore miner.

Apple said that it planned to hire Mark Papermaster, a high-ranking I.B.M. technology executive, to run its iPod and iPhone hardware engineering groups.

Wall Street's Dow Jones index opens up sharply as people in the US go to the polls to choose a new president.

Spain's level of unemployment reaches a 12-year high of 11.3%, the highest level in the European Union.

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Reuters - Stocks climbed further on Tuesday as the presidential election got under way, while investors picked up shares trading around five-year lows amid further signs of easing in credit markets.

Reuters - General Electric Co does not expect the Treasury Department to offer to invest funds from a $700 billion fund to bail out the financial industry in its GE Capital arm, but would listen to a proposal if one were made, a GE spokesman said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Shares of major U.S. airlines fell on Tuesday, the morning after Continental Airlines Inc said it expects domestic revenue per available seat mile to rise only 4 to 6 percent in November, citing softer yields and a weaker economy.

Reuters - U.S. crude futures rose more than $5 on Tuesday, bolstered by signals that OPEC member countries were cutting production, a weaker dollar and optimism about stronger international equities markets -- factors that offset concerns about falling demand.

UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland, which both tapped government bailout funds, warned Tuesday of further deterioration in market conditions in the fourth quarter.

The hospital operator?s third-quarter results fell shy of Wall Street expectations and it cut its full-year outlook.

The price of Brent crude rises from a 20-month low on reports that Saudi Arabia has already cut oil production.

World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy confirms he will seek another four-year term heading the international agency.

Reuters - Stocks climbed further on Tuesday as the presidential election got under way and investors picked up shares trading around five-year lows.

Reuters - Oil jumped more than 11 percent on Tuesday on signs Saudi Arabia had made substantial cuts in crude supplies and as global financial markets rallied.

Reuters - Up to 5O percent of executive bonus schemes should be based on delivery against future performance targets, London Business School professor and City veteran Sir Andrew Likierman said on Tuesday.

Wall Street was poised to have its largest Election Day rally in 24 years as millions of American voters went to the polls.

In the latest setback for the new plane, the Boeing 787 will not make its first test flight this year because of delays caused by a strike of the machinists union, the airplane maker said.

Boeing announces fresh delays to the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner and blames a 58-day machinists' strike.

Reuters - Stocks climbed on Tuesday on an Election Day that will resolve a key question overhanging the market and investors picked up shares around five-year lows amid further signs of easing in credit markets.

Reuters - Oil prices jumped nearly 11 percent on Tuesday on signs Saudi Arabia had made substantial cuts in its crude exports and as global financial markets rallied.

Reuters - The Treasury Department is exploring how best to expand its capital injection program to provide more liquidity to credit markets and is considering specialty finance firms in the process, a source familiar with the government's thinking said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Nortel Networks Corp could shed between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs when it details its latest restructuring plan next week, analysts said on Tuesday.

Wall Street had its largest Election Day rally in 24 years as millions of American voters went to the polls.

The completion of a $200 million renovation of the Book Cadillac hotel in downtown Detroit is another sign for residents that the city is working to regain some polish and prestige.

When a 100-inch screen is overkill, a ridiculously simple micro-projector like the Optoma Pico really shines.

Reuters - Stocks rose in the biggest Election Day rally ever on Tuesday, as investors looked forward to the end of the uncertainty surrounding the long fight for the White House, and as energy companies' shares followed oil prices higher.

Reuters - Oil prices jumped more than 10 percent on Tuesday on signs Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members had made cuts in crude exports and as global financial markets rallied ahead of the U.S. election result.

Reuters - Computer maker Dell Inc has asked employees to consider taking up to five days of unpaid vacation as it struggles to cut costs in the face of weak global demand.

AP - Several companies already have announced plans to reduce or suspend the 401(k) company match:

NewsFactor - It may not be one of the burning social issues of our time -- neither presidential candidate made it part of their stump speech -- but Internet retailer Amazon.com has announced that it is taking a stand on 'wrap rage.'

UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland, which both tapped government bailout funds, warned of further deterioration in market conditions in the fourth quarter.

Dozens of municipal transit authorities have asked the federal government to help them avoid early-termination fees for tax shelters linked to the troubled insurance giant.

Regulators approved use of a slice of radio spectrum in hopes that it will lead to improved Internet access.

Blogging about staff cuts is particularly prevalent in Silicon Valley, where companies feel pressure to break bad news on their own blogs so that they can better control the message.

While vacancy rates are rising in Manhattan, mostly because of layoffs in the financial industry, office space is becoming more scarce in Downtown Brooklyn.

A former Goldman Sachs analyst convicted of running a $6.7 million insider-trading ring has gone missing and may have fled the United States.

The completion of a $200 million renovation of the Book Cadillac hotel in downtown Detroit is another sign for residents that the city is working to regain some polish and prestige.

Just five months after saying it would drop its frequency to every other week, U.S. News and World Report has decided to become a monthly magazine instead.

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether providers are giving misleading information related the move of analog channels to digital service.

The rpTenet Healthcare Cooration earned $104 million after a loss of $59 million a year earlier.

At a new shopping center in London, CBS Outdoor has installed more than 100 digital advertising screens, including one covering 646 square feet.

When a 100-inch screen is overkill, a ridiculously simple micro-projector like the Optoma Pico really shines.

As the UK rate-setters meet, economic reports point to a worsening downturn that may make them cut rates again.

Reuters - General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co posted more than $27 billion of net losses in the first half of 2008 -- and that was before a deepening economic slowdown pushed industry sales to 25-year lows.

The models of risk modeling used on Wall Street failed to keep pace with the growth in complex securities, experts say.

European Union governments asked France to rethink its proposal on how to deal with the global financial crisis, suggesting a slower, more coordinated process was needed.

Schools in Alabama are getting hit hard by falling tax receipts, an early warning of the vulnerability of poor states during the economic downturn.

The market credit-default swaps, which have played a significant role in the financial crisis, seems to be smaller than many analysts believed, a report suggested.

One of the Fed?s moments of glory came during the 1979-87 chairmanship of Paul Volcker, when the Fed succeeded in bringing inflation under control.

The combined effects of falling ethanol prices, credit woes and volatile costs for the corn from which corn is made is threatening many ethanol producers.

In the latest setback for the new plane, the Boeing 787 will not make its first test flight this year because of delays caused by a strike of the machinists union, the airplane maker said.

Marvel, which publishes comic books, licenses characters and makes movies, also raised its forecast for the current year but said results next year would weaken.

Hurricane damage, losses at its life and health business and markdowns on assets from the global financial turmoil contributed to the third-quarter loss at the Swiss Reinsurance Company.

Reuters - Stock index futures fell late Tuesday, after Democrat Barack Obama scored the first big win in the fight for the White House by capturing Pennsylvania, but with the race still too close to call.

While vacancy rates are rising in Manhattan, mostly because of layoffs in the financial industry, office space is becoming more scarce in Downtown Brooklyn.

Reuters - Stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday after the U.S. media projected that Democrat Barack Obama had secured enough votes to become the next U.S. president.

Reuters - U.S. crude oil futures fell more than $2 on Wednesday as the dollar gained after U.S. media projected Democrat Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election.