Reuters - New Jersey's pension fund is under fire over a series of hedge-fund investments, the Wall Street Journal said.

The government?s bailout of Citigroup could lead other banks to take bigger risks.

Timothy F. Geithner has been at the heart of dealing with the financial crisis. Now, as Barack Obama?s choice for Treasury secretary, he will be thrust from go-between to the head of the table.

Mining giant BHP Billiton calls off its bid for Rio Tinto, blaming falling commodity prices and demands that it sell assets.

Stock markets in Asia see strong gains following the Citigroup bail-out and big rises in US and European shares.

Hewlett-Packard reports a 21% jump in sales of laptops and a 99% rise in revenue from technology services.

New US Treasury Secretary is top crisis manager

Clinton Cards reports a 6% fall in sales over the past 16 weeks, blaming the 'harsh economic conditions' on the High Street.

Reuters - Internet search giant Google Inc said it is 'significantly' reducing the number of contract workers it uses, but has no plans at this time to lay off employees, the Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - Top global miner BHP Billiton walked away from its $58 billion hostile offer for rival Rio Tinto on Tuesday, citing worsening market conditions and European regulators' demands it sell prized iron ore and coal assets.

The world?s largest mining company abandoned its hostile bid to acquire its rival Rio Tinto, citing turmoil in the financial markets and regulatory concerns in Europe.

The OECD says that the UK will suffer a deeper recession than any other major economy in 2009.

The slump in mortgage lending by the UK's biggest banks continued in October, a banking body says.

Buy-to-let mortgage lender Paragon Group reports a 43% fall in annual profits following the credit market turmoil.

Reuters - Top global miner BHP Billiton dropped a $66 billion hostile offer for rival Rio Tinto on Tuesday, the latest casualty of a global crisis that has frozen credit markets and hit demand for raw materials.

European markets turned higher Tuesday afternoon after a huge rally a day earlier. Asian shares rose as investors caught up with the rally on Wall Street.

Chinese toy makers should avoid using unsafe foreign designs, China's foreign ministry spokesman has said.

German consumer sentiment rises slightly for the third month in a row despite the country being in a recession, a survey says.

Swedish construction firm Skanska says it will cut 3,400 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, because of an 'extremely sharp decline in residential markets'.

Economic crisis hits the smallest US state hard

Alistair Darling defends his pre-Budget as the Conservatives accuse him of taking 'huge risks' with the UK economy.

Shares in Axa, Europe's second-biggest insurer, sink 15% after the firm cuts its profit forecasts.

Reuters - Global miner BHP Billiton abandoned its hostile takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto , blaming sliding metals prices and the threat of global recession for scuppering the mega-merger.

AP - Warner Music Group Corp., whose artists include Linkin Park and Madonna, said Tuesday lower income tax expense and increased digital revenue drove its fiscal fourth-quarter profit up 20 percent to beat Wall Street expectations.

An updated reading showed gross domestic product shrank at a 0.5 percent annual rate in the quarter, weaker than an earlier 0.3 percent estimate, as consumers cut their spending.

The Federal Reserve said it will purchase up to $100 billion in direct obligations from the mortgage finance giants and another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities.

European markets were mixed Tuesday afternoon after a huge rally a day earlier. Asian shares rose as investors caught up with the rally on Wall Street.

The homebuilder reported a quarterly loss of $799.9 million as it took more than $1 billion in write-downs tied to declining land values and as sales fell by almost half.

The Federal Reserve is to pump an additional $800bn ($526.8bn) into the markets in another bid to deal with the financial crisis.

The US economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.5% from July to September, according to revised official data.

Russian warships arrive for joint exercises in Venezuela as President Dmitry Medvedev tours Latin America to boost ties.

Why is popular lager Cobra Beer up for sale?

Mervyn King warns that the UK economy will go into 'a steep recession' if the commercial banks increase lending rates.

Reuters - Stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve announced a program to bolster consumer lending, adding to optimism about government efforts aimed at averting a deep economic slump.

Reuters - D.R. Horton , the largest U.S. homebuilder, on Tuesday reported a wider quarterly loss of $2.53 per share, or $799.9 million, compared with 16 cents per share, or $50.1 million, a year ago.

The Treasury Department and the Fed hope the $800 billion worth of loan and debt programs will ease borrowing for homebuyers, businesses and students.

Shares opened higher but shares slipped back as the latest economic report showed that home prices across the United States were 16.6 percent lower in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, home values suffered the biggest year-over-year decline in more than two decades.

Despite the uptick in November, Americans? views on the economy remain gloomy amid layoffs, falling home prices and dwindling retirement funds, the Conference Board survey showed.

The company beat Wall Street expectations as lower income tax expenses and increased digital revenue drove fourth-quarter profit up.

Fourth-quarter profit dropped as the food company grappled with higher costs for key commodity ingredients.

Hewlett-Packard is attacking Cisco to capture a larger chunk of the $20 billion market for local area network and wireless switches.

The US Fed says it will inject another $800bn into the economy as it battles to stabilise its financial system.

The US economy shrank at an annual pace of 0.5% from July to September, against an initial contraction estimate of 0.3%.

The footballer helps one phone firm to crack new markets

Mervyn King warns the UK economy will go into 'a steep recession' if the banks don't increase lending levels.

Reuters - Stocks extended losses on Tuesday, sending the Nasdaq down more than 2 percent, as investors pummeled technology shares on concerns about the deepening economic downturn.

Reuters - Consumer confidence improved moderately in November from a record low in October, with the 'present situation index' slipping slightly but the expectations index improving, according to a business research company index released on Tuesday.

AFP - US authorities launched fresh efforts Tuesday to unfreeze credit and limit the economic downturn with programs to buy up to 800 billion dollars in mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

Reuters - Discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc said on Tuesday quarterly profit rose 20 percent as more customers came into its stores for low prices on basic items like food and cleaning supplies.

In the third quarter, home values suffered the biggest year-over-year decline in more than two decades.

The executives, who said they would forgo about $27.7 million, oversaw more than $40 billion in subprime losses at the Swiss bank.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Women's clothing retailers Talbots Inc and Chico's FAS reported quarterly results that were in line with or better than Wall Street forecasts, allaying concerns their business would perform even worse in a contracting U.S. economy.

Three former bosses at Swiss bank UBS are to forgo 33m Swiss francs in salary and other payments.

US President-elect Barack Obama names more advisers and sets out measures to tackle the ailing economy.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Tuesday, led lower by the Nasdaq, as worries about the deepening global economic slump drove a sell-off in big-cap technology shares.

Reuters - Shares of Cisco Systems Inc were down 6 percent on Tuesday after the network equipment maker said it would shut down most its U.S. and Canadian business for five days in as part of its previously announced plan to cut costs by more than $1 billion.

AFP - US authorities launched fresh efforts Tuesday to unfreeze credit and limit the economic downturn with programs to buy up to 800 billion dollars in mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

AP - Rates on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt fell Tuesday — a promising sign that homeowners' mortgage rates could decline, too — after the Federal Reserve said it will buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed assets.

Barack Obama vowed to cut waste in a federal budget that ?bleeds billions,? to help offset the costs of a huge stimulus package.

Shares gave up early gains, halting the market?s two-day rally after the government?s latest plan to pump billions of dollars into ailing credit markets.

Many advanced economies are in or nearing downturns of a magnitude not experienced since the early 1980s, the O.E.C.D. said in its twice-yearly economic outlook.

The company that it would pay its chief executive, Edward M. Liddy, only a $1 a year and that it was freezing the salaries and eliminating bonuses for its seven other top executives.

The government considered increasing Value Added Tax to 18.5% from 2011, a Treasury document shows.

Not all retailers will be ready to implement the cut in VAT by Monday, the BBC is told.

Reuters - The Nasdaq slid on Tuesday as worries over the deepening global economic slump drove a sell-off in technology shares, overshadowing a plan by the Federal Reserve to revive consumer lending.

Reuters - Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co fell more than 7 percent on Tuesday on concerns about weak sales of printer ink and personal computers, fed in part by pessimistic quarterly earnings from one of the company's distributors.

Atlantic is the first major label to report getting a majority of its revenue from digital sales, not CDs.

Can the EU manage a stimulus package across 27 nations?

Reuters - American International Group Inc Chief Executive Edward Liddy will receive $1 in salary this year and next, and there will be no 2008 bonuses for the company's seven most senior executives, the troubled insurance conglomerate said on Tuesday.

AP - Fannie Mae says David Johnson will serve as the mortgage giant's chief financial officer and executive vice president, beginning immediately.

The global downturn is reaching deep into the heart of the country?s once-rapid industrial transformation.

Atlantic is the first major label to report getting a majority of its revenue from digital sales, not CDs.

Many advanced economies are in or nearing downturns of a magnitude not experienced since the early 1980s, the O.E.C.D. said in its twice-yearly economic outlook.

European Union telecommunications ministers are set to endorse proposed price limits on cross-border text messaging and mobile Web surfing.

The world?s largest mining company abandoned its hostile bid to acquire its rival Rio Tinto, citing turmoil in the financial markets and regulatory concerns in Europe.

The credit crisis is battering the two largest publicly traded operators of housing for the elderly.

A local developer plans to build a Marriott hotel on the waterfront in New Bedford, Mass. ? the first downtown hotel in decades.

A lawyer for the billionaire Kirk Kerkorian was sentenced for hiring a private investigator to wiretap the phone of Mr. Kerkorian?s ex-wife.

France and Germany's leaders call on the EU to ease fiscal rules to allow nations to spend more to boost their economies.

The UK government reviews offshore banking

A rise in Value Added Tax to 18.5% was being considered by the government until under a week ago, the BBC understands.

The global downturn is reaching deep into the heart of the country?s once-rapid industrial transformation.

Parents, especially mothers, are putting off personal spending to buy their children the latest toys.

The former investment bank, now a bank holding company, plots its future.

Many advanced economies are in or nearing downturns of a magnitude not experienced since the early 1980s, the O.E.C.D. said in its twice-yearly economic outlook.

Car dealers, parts makers, union leaders and others intend to tell lawmakers that the auto industry is vital to the economy.

Parkcentral Capital Management, an investment firm that manages money for the family of Ross Perot, is liquidating a fixed-income hedge fund because it is ?no longer viable.?

Over the last two years, Lawrence Summers has carved out a role as a shadow economic minister, laying out how a Democratic administration would have responded to the financial crisis.

EU member states are being urged to sign up to an economic recovery plan proposed by the European Commission.

Reuters - American International Group Inc says it has completed completed a $40 billion preferred stock sale to the U.S. Department of Treasury under TARP.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Vikram Pandit on Tuesday blamed prior management for diving too deeply into real estate, causing losses that led to this week's massive government bailout of the second-largest U.S. bank by assets.

The Fed and the Treasury announced new lending programs, sending a message that they would print as much money as needed to revive the nation?s banks.

Barack Obama vowed to scour wasteful spending from the federal budget that ?bleeds billions,? to help offset the costs of a huge stimulus package.

Three former officials of UBS, the troubled Swiss financial giant, said that they would forgo more than $27 million in compensation.

Some of the nation?s universities are trying to sell chunks of their portfolios privately as their endowments swoon with the markets.

Radio advertising was down 10 percent last month from October 2007, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau, the 18th consecutive month of declines.