AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has reassured Wall Street by telling Congress the recession might end this year.

AFP - Wall Street indexes plunged to their lowest close in nearly 12 years on investor disappointment with the latest plan from Washington to prop up the ailing US banking system.

AP - Investors unable to stop worrying about a recession that has no end in sight dumped stocks again Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 251 points to its lowest close since May 7, 1997, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index logged its lowest finish since April 11, 1997.

Reuters - Wall Street slumped to a 12-year low on Monday as investors lost faith that the U.S. government will be able to stabilize the financial system.

AP - Wall Street has turned the clock back to 1997. Investors unable to extinguish their worries about a recession that has no end in sight dumped stocks again Monday.

AP - The government on Monday moved toward dramatically expanding its ownership stakes in the nation's banks — with Citigroup, the struggling titan of the industry, apparently at the top of the list. Wall Street responded as it has with the rollout of almost every other plan to fix the financial crisis, taking a big drop and sending the Dow Jones industrials to its lowest level in a dozen years.

AFP - London shares were on the backfoot at the start of trade on Tuesday as investor worries grew over the banking sector and a deepening recession.

AP - Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday, with Hong Kong and South Korea indexes down around 3 percent, after relentless fears about the financial system and world economy drove Wall Street to its worst finish in nearly 12 years.

AFP - The latest Obama administration plan to shore up the ailing US banking sector got a sceptical reception on Tuesday, heralding another grim day on world stock markets.

AP - European stock markets rose modestly Monday ahead of expected Wall Street gains on reports that the Obama administration was not planning to nationalize one or more big U.S. banks and was instead looking at ways to raise its stake in Citigroup Inc.

AFP - Global stock markets mostly rebounded Monday on the back of a report that the US government was poised to take a 25-40 percent stake in troubled banking giant Citigroup.

AFP - Shares in London fell in the end Monday despite promising early signs as concern grew for the global economy and auto and technology sectors came under pressure.

AP - Investors' sagging confidence has pulled the major stock market indexes to their lowest levels in over a decade. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell to April 1997 levels Monday, while the Dow Jones industrial average, down about 150 points, reached its levels of October 1997 as investors succumbed to their growing worries about a recession that has no end in sight.