Mitt Romney is pushing for a big win over Newt Gingrich in tonight's Florida primary in a bid to re-establish himself as the front-runner in the race to pick a Republican challenger to President Barack Obama.

Mitt Romney said yesterday he has overcome his South Carolina setback and returned to the Republican primary forefront by aggressively returning Newt Gingrich’s fire and by presenting himself as a Washington outsider.

Newt Gingrich cast Mitt Romney as the most anti-immigrant candidate of the four contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in a heated campaign debate in Hispanic-heavy Florida.

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich’s fight for Florida and the states beyond reached boiling point as Romney’s tax returns showed annual income topping $20 million — and a now-closed Swiss bank account — as Gingrich insisted his consulting work for a mortgage giant that contributed to the housing crisis did not include lobbying.

THERE IS a simple explanation for why the world’s zombie banks remain so reluctant to write off worthless assets and tap the equity markets for fresh capital. They don’t want to end up like UniCredit.

European markets slumped deep into the red today as renewed fears over the continent’s debt crisis rocked banks across the continent.

Royal Bank of Scotland shares slumped 12% today as litigation fears, weak economic data and the eurozone debt crisis drained market confidence.

The US government has begun legal action against 17 financial firms, including the country’s largest banks, for selling billions worth of mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic when the housing market collapsed.

The US government is planning to sue some of the country’s largest banks over mortgage-backed securities they sold that lost value in the housing market collapse, according to reports.

The US government is going to sue about 12 big banks for misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities, according to a report in the New York Times.

US stocks sank the most since December 2008 yesterday, while Treasuries rallied and gold surged to a record, as Standard & Poor’s reduction of the nation’s credit rating fuelled concern the economic slowdown will worsen.

HEAVY declines were again the main feature of international markets yesterday, with European exchanges falling to their lowest levels in almost two years.

The Federal Reserve will inject about $1 trillion (€740bn) into America’s economy in a bold effort to help the battered housing market and lift the US out of recession.

US President Barack Obama today unveiled a $75bn (€59.7bn) package aimed at helping millions of struggling homeowners across America.

The US Federal Reserve signalled today that it will keep using unconventional tools to cushion the fall-out, including keeping a key interest rate at a record low for quite "some time".

US mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said today it would need an additional €23.1-26.2bn in government aid as it coped with losses on loans the company backed during the housing crisis.

Former executives who oversaw massive losses at Swiss banking giant UBS will repay a further 22 million francs (€14.7m), chairman Peter Kurer said.

Wall Street barrelled higher Monday for the second straight session, this time in a relief rally over the government’s plan to bail out Citigroup Inc. – a move it hopes will help quiet some of the uncertainty hounding the financial sector and the overall economy.

The US government unveiled a bold plan to rescue troubled Citigroup, including taking a $20bn (€15.7bn) stake in the firm as well as guaranteeing hundreds of billions of dollars in risky assets.

Wall Street got another dose of painful reality today, with stocks falling sharply as investors recognised that few industries are safe from the consumer spending slump.

Three top executives are departing mortgage finance company Freddie Mac, which was seized by the US government nearly three weeks ago.

The FBI is investigating four major US financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a US$700bn (€477bn) bailout plan by the Bush administration.

The Bush administration insisted Congress must move quickly to approve what one politician called the "mother of all bailouts" - a US$700bn (€483.5bn) proposal to buy a mountain of bad mortgage debt in a bid to free up the nation's credit markets.

The Government is increasing the statutory guarantee limit for bank deposits from €20,000 to €100,000 per person.

Wall Street extended a huge rally today as investors stormed back into the market, relieved that the government plans to restore calm to the financial system by rescuing banks from billions of dollars in bad debt.

Barack Obama today said he supported giving the US Treasury Department “broad authority” to deal with the economic crisis.

The US today outlined a rescue plan costing hundreds of billions of dollars to sort out the toxic bank debts that plunged the world’s economy into chaos.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama today turned to some of the most respected names in the business world for fresh ideas to end the US financial upheaval and win the confidence of voters.

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today the country had no option but to put in place an expensive and bold rescue plan to save the economy.

THE subprime crisis was the big story of 2007, is the big story of 2008 and will inevitably be the big story of 2009 and probably beyond.

US president Bush attempted to ease America's fears over the economy today in a set-piece speech that was short on specifics.

The US stock market took another nosedive as the American banking system appeared even shakier and investors worried that the financial crisis is spinning so far out of control that even government rescues cannot stop it.

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

Shares tumbled today as US investors reacted to a stunning reshaping of the landscape of Wall Street.

The axed chief executives of America’s mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be barred from severance payments of up to £12m (€15.1m).

What are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

AS TRAUMATIC as the personal anguish they represent, there is nothing unique about five empty properties on South 17th Street in Springfield, Illinois.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet today welcomed the US government's decision to rescue mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Declines in the retail and mining sectors added to fears over US investment banking giant Lehman Brothers today.

Stocks tumbled today after fresh worries about the stability of Lehman Brothers Holdings touched off renewed jitters about the overall financial sector.

THE announcement by the US Treasury Dept over the weekend that it would be stepping in to bail out US mortgage kingpins Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proved to be a catalyst as markets around the globe bounced back.

Stocks rallied today as investors placed bets that a recovery in the financial and housing sectors is more likely to occur following the US government’s move to bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Dow Jones industrials gained nearly 300 points.

The US federal takeover of troubled US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have been prevented if Congress had acted on its recommendations, the White House said today.

A computer glitch paralysed the London Stock Exchange for nearly seven hours today, wiping out trading during one of the busiest days of the ye