Reuters - Merrill Lynch's agreement to sell $30.6 billion of toxic securities gives away the bank's potential profits on the securities and leaves it on the hook for most of the risk, strategists at Bank of America wrote on Wednesday.

Reuters - The U.S., European, and Swiss central banks on Wednesday extended emergency lending facilities for investment banks and expanded other liquidity programs to ease credit market strains that have weighed on the global economy for nearly a year.

AFP - Europe's main stock markets fell on Tuesday, hit by losses to banking shares after overnight declines on Wall Street.

Reuters - GMAC and Ford Motor Credit disclosed steps on Tuesday to cut back on auto leases in a move that leaves automakers facing the risk of even more pressure on auto sales already at decade lows.

Reuters - MetLife Inc , the largest U.S. life insurer, said on Tuesday its second-quarter profit fell on investment losses and a decline in insurance earnings, sending its shares sliding nearly 10 percent.

Reuters - Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) quarterly profit rose 31.5 percent on the runaway success of its Wii game console, but the Japanese video game maker kept its annual outlook well short of market expectations.

Reuters - As the rout in oil prices nears the 20 percent mark that for stocks would signal a bear market, many analysts offer a word of caution -- don't mistake a healthy correction for the end of a multi-year bull trend.

Reuters - Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co's plan to merge with a struggling affiliate and then list on the New York Stock Exchange will help the giant buyout firm expand at an ideal time for making acquisitions, KKR executives said on Monday.

Reuters - Stocks rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday as a drop of over $3 in the price of oil and data showing a rise in consumer confidence reduced worry about inflation and consumer spending.

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.