US financial watchdogs today acted to stop aggressive forms of short-selling that were blamed in part for the demise of Lehman Brothers.

Asian stock markets partly recovered today after the US government announced a £47.2 billion plan to bail out troubled insurance giant American International Group.

Asian stock markets were down sharply today amid growing alarm over the world’s financial system as investors braced for a seismic shake-up on Wall Street involving the likely collapse of Lehman Brothers and the takeover of Merrill Lynch.

Wall Street started the week with a mixed performance today, as investors regained a cautious stance in response to a weaker-than-expected profit report from Bank of America Corp. and disappointing news from a smaller bank, National City Corp.

Wall Street closed mixed today, recuperating from a sharp plunge as investors snapped up bargain stocks on rumours that a bond insurer rescue plan is progressing and upbeat comments from Cisco Systems and Amazon.

Wall Street plunged again lower today amid renewed fears that the financial sector’s troubles with bad credit won’t soon end and that some consumers are buckling under signs of a slowing economy.

Wall Street finished only slightly higher in an erratic session today as investors remained unconvinced by a Federal Reserve plan to work with other central banks to alleviate the global credit crisis.

Wall Street wilted today as investors awaiting next week’s Federal Reserve meeting remained uneasy that fallout from the slumping housing market could bring more bank losses and pull the economy into recession.

Wall Street tumbled today, led by financial services stocks, on concerns that the US economy’s expansion will erode amid troubles in the mortgage industry.

Wall Street drifted to a modestly higher finish today as investors sought bargains after last week’s selloff and disappointing earnings in the financial sector raised fresh concerns about corporate profits.

Wall Street’s rally skidded to a halt today after weaker-than-expected earnings from Citigroup Inc. raised questions about other companies’ second-quarter results – but a drop in oil prices limited the market’s decline.

Parmalat Finanziaria SpA Chairman Enrico Bondi has proposed honouring 1% of the €1.8bn in debt claims from the Italian food company’s US lenders, including Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp.

Wall Street looked past an underwhelming statement by the Federal Reserve today and rebounded smartly as bargain hunters picked up stocks battered by a week of heavy losses.

THE dollar rallied to the highest in almost a month against the euro after French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin joined German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in calling for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed to its highest level in 17 months today as strong earnings and merger news helped the stock market shake off a weak consumer spending report. The three main gauges posted a weekly and monthly gain.