Reuters - Oil fell to its lowest level in nearly three months on Tuesday, extending a steep slide since mid-July on mounting evidence high prices and a souring economy were cutting into world energy demand.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc may write down about $8 billion in the third quarter from its exposure to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) after Merrill Lynch & Co agreed to sell its CDOs at a sharp discount, Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Mayo said.

Reuters - Several analysts, including Oppenheimer's Meredith Whitney, widened their loss view on Merrill Lynch , after the Wall Street investment bank and brokerage said it will take a $5.7 billion third-quarter writedown as it unloads risky debt and raises $8.5 billion in capital.

Reuters - Consumer confidence halted a six-month slide in July, but barely climbed from its lowest level in more than a decade, while home prices continued their record decline in May.

AFP - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, one of the most prestigious US investment firms, announced its intentions Sunday to sell its shares publicly on the New York Stock Exchange.

AP - Japan's economy showed more signs of deterioration as government data revealed Tuesday that the unemployment rate inched up and consumers tightened their purse strings amid rising food and oil prices.

Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Monday as fear of more credit and housing market turmoil battered financial shares and a mixed bag of quarterly results added to uncertainty the outlook for corporate profits.

Reuters - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co's plan to become publicly traded by acquiring its struggling European affiliate signals that the buyout boom may flounder longer and force the private equity firm to focus on other businesses.

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co said on Monday it will take a $5.7 billion third-quarter write-down as it unloads huge amounts of risky debt, and will raise $8.5 billion by selling new stock.

Reuters - The Treasury and the nation's four biggest banks on Monday said they will kick-start a market for an investment product to support home financing in the latest effort to spur a slumping housing market.

AP - Japanese stocks ended slightly higher Monday as investors were cautious ahead of earnings and financial data due out later in the week.

AP - Franca Tantillo puts rising fuel prices in the same category as the springtime hail storm that wiped out part of her strawberry crop. Both cut into the profit she can make at the farmers markets she sells at in New York City, about 135 miles south of her farm.

Reuters - Wall Street earnings are "unlikely" to recover in the second half of this year meaning New York City's fiscal deficits could soar above the mayor's forecasts, the state comptroller warned on Monday.