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Global Markets Fall
The BBC is reporting some serious drops in foreign markets -- the biggest drops since stock markets plummeted after 9/11. The FTSE 100 was off 5.5%. Paris and Frankfurt are down 7%.Global stock indexes, including the UK FTSE 100, have fallen their most since the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 amid fears of a recession.The FTSE 100 index tumbled 5.5% to 5,578.2, wiping ?84bn $163bn off the value of its listed shares.Indexes in Paris and Frankfurt slumped by about 7%, while markets in Asia, India and South America also dropped.Investors questioned whether a recent plan to boost the US economy would be enough to avert a full-blown recession.The U.S. markets are closed today to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday. Marketwatch reports that stock future indicate the DOW will open 500 points down on Tuesday morning.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Argentine Farmers Restore Roadblocks After Talks With Officials - Bloomberg
BBC NewsArgentine Farmers Restore Roadblocks After Talks With OfficialsBloomberg - 5 hours agoBy Richard Jarvie March 29 Bloomberg -- Argentine farm groups resumed their blockade of some of the country's major highways after government officials failed to respond to their demands to cancel an increase in export taxes.Argentine farm protest restarts nationwide ForbesArgentine Farmers Set Up New Barricades Houston ChronicleReuters India - AFP - Reuters - Voice of Americaall 310 news articles

Bank of America to Buy Countrywide
Reuters reports that Bank of America is buying Countrywide for $4 billion.The purchase marks another acquisition for Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, who has spent more than $100 billion since 2004 to create the second-largest U.S. bank and the nations largest consumer bank.It also provides a lifeline for Countrywide, which became a poster child for what critics say were lending excesses that fueled the housing and credit meltdown.The largest U.S. mortgage lender has been convulsed by mounting losses and defaults, a loss of access to credit markets, and a slew of lawsuits and regulatory probes into its lending practices and Chief Executive Angelo Mozilos pay. On Tuesday, it denied rumors that it might go bankrupt.Countrywide has been hit very hard by the housing and credit problems. The deal is a big save for them and their shareholders but there are questions about what it means for Bank of America. SeekingAlpha says Bank of America will lose billions in the deal to acquire Countrywide. The Economist calls BofAs purchase a big gamble. Time will tell but it does sound like a risky acquisition.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Bush Says Administration Will Expand Mortgage-Relief (Update1) - Bloomberg
NECNBush Says Administration Will Expand Mortgage-Relief Update1Bloomberg - 19 hours agoBy David Scheer March 29 Bloomberg -- President George W. Bush said the government will expand efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure as Democrats increase pressure on his administration to reduce unaffordable home-loan payments.Bush may expand help for struggling homeowners ReutersCongress poised to tackle tricky mortgage crisis NewsdayImperial Valley News - Voice of America - The Associated Press - Philadelphia Inquirerall 515 news articles

UBS to mark down auction-rate securities - CNNMoney.com
PravdaUBS to mark down auction-rate securitiesCNNMoney.com - 3 hours agoTORONTO Thomson Financial - UBS NYSE:UBS AG said Friday it is cutting the value of auction-rate securities in its brokerage customers' accounts, the first confirmation that problems with the securities have eroded the principal holdings of investors.3 Firms Are Asked for Data on Auction-Rate Shares New York TimesUBS, Merrill, Bank of America Auction Sales Probed Update4 BloombergForbes - Wall Street Journal - Reuters - Boston Heraldall 54 news articles

Super Tuesday is Terrible Tuesday for Stock Market
The American public is busy trying to figure out what all these polls mean about who is going to be their partys candidate. Meanwhile, Super Tuesday has turned out to be Terrible Tuesday for the stock market. Todays news that service sector shrank sent stocks in the wrong direction.The volatility that pummeled stocks in January returned with the news that the service sector shrank last month for the first time since March 2003. The report from the Institute for Supply Management wiped out the nascent optimism about the economy that had sent stocks surging higher last week.The report drives a nail into the coffin from investors minds that were in a recession, said Todd Salamone, director of trading at Schaeffers Investment Research. That doesnt mean stock prices in the months ahead will be lower. But when you see headline numbers like this, there tends to be a reactionary sell.The ISM said its index of service sector activity, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, dropped below 50, a level that indicates contraction. Economists had expected another month of growth.Its possible the service sector, which includes businesses ranging from restaurants to retailers to banks, could bounce back in February as the manufacturing sector did in January after its December contraction. The benefit of the Federal Reserves two big interest rate cuts in the latter part of January could also help spur the service sector back into growth mode later this year.Marketwatchs entry says the data today is pointing toward a recession.Todays awful numbers:Dow down 370.03 2.93% - biggest one-day point drop for Dow since it dropped 387 points on Aug. 9, 2007.Nasdaq lost 73.28 3.08%Standard and Poors 500 lost 44.18 3.20%Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

American Axle strike tips US nearer recession as GM, suppliers ... - Detroit Free Press
ServihooAmerican Axle strike tips US nearer recession as GM, suppliers ...Detroit Free Press - 11 hours agoBY JEWEL GOPWANI ? FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER ? March 30, 2008 At the beginning of this year, it seemed like Detroit's great labor battles were over, after industry-changing deals at the Detroit automakers and the likes of parts giant Delphi Corp.GM's Broken Axle BusinessWeekStrike at American Axle To Shut Another GM Plant Wall Street JournalMLive.com - Reuters - AFP - DetNews.comall 179 news articles

Lehman to sue over Japan fraud BBC News
Boston GlobeLehman to sue over Japan 'fraud'BBC News - 7 hours agoLehman Brothers, one of America's largest investment banks, plans to sue a Japanese trading house, saying it has been the victim of a complex fraud.Lehman to Sue Japan's Marubeni, Claiming Loan Fraud Update1 BloombergMarubeni employees' scam hit Lehman, others: sources ReutersInternational Herald Tribune - RTT News - BloggingStocks - Canada Eastall 231 news articles