AFP - US and European authorities launched fresh initiatives Tuesday to break the grip of a global credit crunch, but the moves failed to boost market confidence as Wall Street and other stock markets sank to new lows.

AP - Wall Street's woes extend far beyond Main Street and all the way to Law Street — the hulking headquarters of the European Union.

AP - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown.

AFP - European Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen defended on Wednesday bank nationalisations to prevent bankruptcies, in an interview with the German daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung.

AFP - London's FTSE 100 index of top shares briefly plunged by more than seven percent early on Wednesday after the government announced the part-nationalisation of eight banks and amid a sell-off worldwide.

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.