AFP - US and European stock markets lost steam in volatile trading Tuesday, giving up early gains on persistent anxiety over the health of the banking sector and despite fresh central bank support.

AP - European stocks shed early gains Tuesday as ongoing fears about the health of the banking system, particularly in Britain, offset hopes that the world's leading central banks will follow Australia's lead and cut interest rates aggressively.

AFP - The United States opened up a major new front in the battle against financial turmoil Tuesday, sucking up huge amounts of corporate debt as European governments staged new rescues and nationalisations.

AFP - The European Central Bank pumped 50 billion dollars (37 billion euros) into money markets on Tuesday and said it would double to 50 billion euros the amount of the single European currency it would lend for six months as it tried to ease a tightening credit crunch.

AP - World stock markets on Tuesday recovered some of their hefty losses from the previous day, helped by a steady opening on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it would buy massive amounts of short-term debts in an attempt to ease tight credit markets.

Reuters - Governments around the world scrambled for new measures to contain the fast-spreading credit crisis as stock, bond and commodity markets bet on deepening uncertainty and a sharp downturn.

AP - The son of a former French president, an Israeli-Russian billionaire and a tycoon with ties to Arizona's jet set were among the headliners Monday as 42 defendants went on trial in Paris, accused in a worldwide web of trafficked arms to Angola, money laundering and kickbacks.

AP - European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet called Monday for calm in the continent's jittery markets, saying they are overestimating risks and the euro-zone central bank stood ready to provide all the liquidity needed for as long as necessary.

AP - Individual European governments issued a flurry of deposit guarantees to shore up their banks but fell short of any coordinated action Monday to deal with the crisis sweeping financial markets, even as stock markets crashed and the euro sank to its lowest level for over a year.