Reuters - Home loans to higher-risk borrowers fell sharply in 2007, as did some riskier practices such as layering "piggyback" mortgages to finance home purchases, U.S. regulators said in a report on Thursday.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers tumbled on Thursday after several brokers downgraded the shares on the investment bank and forecast further losses due to business uncertainty.

Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc shares sank below $2 for the first time since 1990 as anxiety grew about the largest U.S. savings and loan's mortgage losses, capital needs and survival prospects.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Thursday in choppy trade as concerns about the financial sector dulled the allure of riskier assets, offsetting falling oil prices.

Reuters - Contrary to market speculation, Goldman Sachs Group Inc is not pursuing an acquisition of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , reflecting concerns that integrating two investment banks would be too disruptive, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's survival was called into question as its chief executive scrambled to sell assets to cover losses from toxic real estate investments, sending shares down as much as 46 percent.

Reuters - The U.S. government's pension insurance agency has told bankrupt auto parts maker Delphi Corp it would go to court on Friday to secure a claim on an additional $900 million in Delphi assets, The Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - U.S. retail sales excluding cars rose in August but at a slower pace, as high gasoline and food prices cut into spending on other goods and services, a private report released on Thursday showed.

Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc shares sank 30 percent to a 17-year low and the perceived risk of its debt soared on worries the largest U.S. savings and loan will not find a buyer or raise enough capital to combat soaring mortgage losses.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday as OPEC's move to shore up oil prices boosted energy shares and Texas Instruments' outlook soothed fear about technology spending even as worries persisted about the health of the banking sector.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers, desperate for capital and fighting for its survival, unveiled a plan to shed weak assets and sell a stake in its funds business, but investors were skeptical and its shares hit new lows.

Reuters - Sales at Sweden's IKEA rose 7 percent in its latest financial year, a Swedish newspaper reported on Wednesday, quoting its top executive as saying the global economic slowdown is weighing on the retailer.