Reuters - Shares of Wachovia Corp and National City Corp tumbled on worries about heavy mortgage losses, as talks on a $700 billion financial sector bailout bogged down and regulators seized Washington Mutual Inc in the largest bank failure in U.S. history.

Reuters - Britain will nationalize troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley , the BBC reported on Saturday, but the government said discussions on the bank's future were still going on.

Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc has filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors in U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware.

Reuters - Iraq has signed preliminary deals worth billions of dollars with General Electric Co and Siemens for equipment to almost double electricity generation capacity, an energy official said on Saturday.

Reuters - Congressional leaders locked themselves behind closed doors on Saturday with an urgent mission to reach a deal on a proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial industry amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Reuters - Regulators and politicians were locked in talks over the future of troubled lender Bradford & Bingley on Saturday, raising the prospect that a second British bank could be nationalized.

Reuters - Financial authorities are holding discussions over the future of Fortis this weekend, while the troubled Belgian-Dutch financial group is seeking to close key divestments deals.

Reuters - The U.S. Congress raced to strike a deal on a proposed $700 billion bailout of the financial industry in an intense weekend negotiating session aimed at alleviating the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

AFP - Global markets saw more tension Friday as the White House and Congress wrangled over a proposed bailout of the ailing financial sector, but Wall Street shares managed to finish mainly higher.

Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co capped off its purchase of Washington Mutual Inc on Friday by selling $10 billion of stock, more than it expected, while analysts warned the company faces a third-quarter loss.

Reuters - Stocks ended mostly higher on Friday as big bank shares staged a late rally on hopes lawmakers would hammer out an agreement on a $700 billion financial-sector rescue plan this weekend.

Reuters - As depositors lost confidence in Washington Mutual Inc , and began emptying their accounts, regulators abandoned hopes of saving the largest U.S. savings bank and conducted a secret auction.

Reuters - Wachovia Corp has begun early merger talks with several suitors, according to published reports, all of which spurned Washington Mutual Inc prior to that lender's seizure by the U.S. government.