AP - Australian stocks slid more than 4 percent Thursday as grim U.S. holiday sales and concerns over the banking industry sent stocks across the Asia Pacific region plunging.

AP - Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday, with Hong Kong's benchmark sliding more than 5 percent, on gloomy U.S. holiday sales and renewed concerns about the banking industry.

AP - NAME — Mary L. Schapiro.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission goes before Congress on Thursday at a time when the embattled agency is being called on to help restore investor confidence shattered by the worst financial crisis in over 70 years.

AFP - London's stock market was down on Thursday after slumping the day before on poor US economic data and mounting worries about the banking sector.

AP - Chinese shares were mixed Thursday, with developers up on a government report of stronger bank lending and auto stocks down despite a new tax cut aimed at boosting sales.

AP - Japanese stocks retreated Thursday, as renewed concerns about the banking industry and dismal data triggered fresh pessimism about the world's two biggest economies.

AP - Hong Kong's main stock index fell over 3 percent Thursday amid a regional sell-off, with heavyweight lender HSBC tumbling to its lowest level in nearly a decade.

AP - World stock markets tumbled Thursday, with Japan's benchmark off nearly 5 percent, as abysmal U.S. holiday sales and fresh banking troubles magnified fears about the global economy.

AP - Wall Street appeared ready to extend its losses Thursday, even after investors got a small dose of good news when JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

AFP - Asian and European stocks fell sharply on Thursday, with Tokyo slumping almost five percent to a one-month low, following another deluge of grim economic and corporate news.

Bloomberg - Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Mary Schapiro, seeking to win Senate confirmation to be chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told lawmakers she plans to give shareholders more say in shaping corporate boards and may drop her predecessor’s drive to mesh U.S. accounting rules with overseas regulations.

AP - JPMorgan Chase managed to avoid a loss in the fourth quarter, indicating that it is weathering the financial crisis better than some of the other big banks.

AP - Stocks are opening little changed as investors take in stride a pair of weak readings on the economy and a better-than-expected report from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

AP - European stock markets recouped some earlier losses Thursday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates again and ahead of an expected solid opening on Wall Street. Asian markets fell sharply earlier as investors played catch-up.

AP - Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were lower at midday Thursday.

Investor's Business Daily - Intel on Thursday will be the first of the big tech firms to report fourth-quarter earnings, offering an early glance at the sector's most trying period since the dot-com collapse.

AP - President elect-Barack Obama's choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission promised Thursday to act aggressively to revitalize the embattled agency's enforcement efforts.

Bloomberg - Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Mary Schapiro said she would seek to make hedge funds register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as money managers if lawmakers confirm her nomination to lead the regulator.

AP - World stock markets slid Thursday amid mounting concerns about the financial health of the global banking system following reports that Bank of America Corp. is looking for fresh bailout funds from the U.S. government.

AP - News that Bank of America Corp. needs another government cash infusion sent stocks sliding Thursday as investors feared that the banking crisis of last fall may have returned.

AFP - The London stock market was down again in late trade on Thursday as economic troubles pressured banks again and prompted the European Central Bank (ECB) to slash interest rates to 2 percent

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told lawmakers she would reinvigorate an agency beset by regulatory missteps and blamed for missing one of the biggest investment frauds in history.

AP - Latin American stocks fell for a fifth day Thursday as grim economic and company news battered markets worldwide, suggesting a deepening recession could linger longer than expected.

AP - World stock markets fell sharply Thursday amid mounting concerns about the financial health of the global banking system on the news that Bank of America Corp. is looking to tap the U.S. government for more cash.

AP - Wall Street recovered from a sharp early drop Thursday as investors worrying about a revival of the banking crisis grew optimistic that the government will again help the financial industry.

AP - Genentech Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit rose 47 percent on sales of its blockbuster cancer drug Avastin, but the biotechnology company set a weaker-than-expected outlook for 2009.

AP - The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for documents from a former state investment officer who claims New Mexico taxpayers lost more than $90 million in an alleged 'pay-to-play' scheme involving contributors to Gov. Bill Richardson's failed presidential campaign.

AP - Latin American stocks rebounded from four straight days of losses Thursday as investors bet a new set of government bailouts could boost the region's slowing economy.