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AP Business NewsBrief at 2:03 a.m. EDT(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Snowballing sell-off drives Dow down 679 pointsNEW YORK (AP) _ A stampede of selling that began in the waning minutes of trading on Wall Street spread to Asia on Friday, deepening a financial crisis that has defied all efforts to stop it. Thursday's anniversary of the stock market peak turned into one of the worst days in Wall Street history, with the Dow Jones industrials loosing a breathtaking 679 points. Asian markets plunge after huge Wall Street lossesTOKYO (AP) _ A massive sell-off on Wall Street and escalating fears of a global recession sent Asian stocks plunging Friday, with Japan's benchmark index plunging more than 10 percent. "Selling is unstoppable in New York and Tokyo," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities Co. Ltd. in Tokyo. "Investors were gripped by fear." Financial turmoil, weaker sales batter GM sharesNEW YORK (AP) _ Investors were watching to see whether General Motors Corp. shares will fall for a seventh straight session Friday as financial turmoil and a weakening global auto market have heightened worries that the automaker may be unable to pull out of its nosedive before it runs out of cash. The company's shares lost nearly one-third of their value Thursday, plunging to their lowest level in more than 58 years, after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said the automaker's credit could fall further into junk status, making it even tougher to borrow money. Rate cut loosens credit only at the marginsNEW YORK (AP) _ The credit markets might not be quite as squeezed as they have been recently, thanks to the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. But they're hardly back to normal. In two signs of continued strain, a key bank-to-bank lending rate rose Thursday and the amount of commercial paper in the market fell for the fourth straight week to 15 percent below the level before the investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy. Oil plummets to $82 on global slowdown fearsSINGAPORE (AP) _ Oil prices plummeted to a one-year low below $83 a barrel Friday in Asia as investor fears of a severe global economic downturn sparked a panicked sell-off of equities and crude. Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.35 to $82.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore, the lowest since October 2007. The contract overnight fell $1.81 to settle at $86.62. Swagger turn to shudder a year after market highSAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Just a year ago, investors were swaggering as the stock market surged to an all-time high. Now, almost everyone on Wall Street and Main Street seems to be shuddering amid a frightening reversal of fortune that has erased $8.3 trillion in shareholder wealth in the past 366 days. "We aren't dealing with a fundamental economic issue any longer," said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management. "We are dealing with fear. And that doesn't respond to economic medicine." Asia faces 'rough ride,' Singapore's leader saysSINGAPORE (AP) _ Asian economies face a "rough ride" for at least the next year as weakening consumer demand from developed countries hurt the region's exports, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Friday. "The world is caught up in a financial storm, and dark clouds fill our immediate horizon," Lee said in a speech in Singapore. "The fear and panic gripping financial markets everywhere will take time to subside." Wells Fargo plans to buy Wachovia; Citi ends talksNEW YORK (AP) _ Wells Fargo emerged as the apparent victor in the battle for control of Wachovia bank Thursday night, after rival suitor Citigroup broke off talks with Wells Fargo and federal regulators but vowed to have its day in court. While Citigroup said it plans to seek $60 billion in damages for breach of contract, it has decided not to challenge the Wells Fargo-Wachovia deal in court. Airline shares hit market turbulenceATLANTA (AP) _ Airline shares and oil prices used to move together like kids on a teeter-totter, with one rising while the other falls. But the financial crisis affecting the U.S. and other countries has thrown that conventional wisdom out the window. Investing in airlines for the long-term can be a risky and not always rewarding proposition, as four major U.S. carriers have filed for bankruptcy protection since 2002, wiping out their pre-Chapter 11 shares in the process. Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, which avoided bankruptcy, has not paid a dividend to common shareholders since 1980, a spokesman said. Mid-sized Japanese insurer goes bankruptTOKYO (AP) _ A medium-sized Japanese insurance company went bankrupt Friday, becoming the first Japanese financial company to collapse on the fallout from the global credit crisis. "We are deeply sorry and offer apologies from the bottom of our hearts," Yamato Life Insurance Co. President Takeo Nakazono said, bowing deeply on nationally televised news. Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |