REYKJAVIK, Iceland Iceland nationalized its second-largest bank on Tuesday under day-old legislation and negotiated a euro4 billion ($5.4 billion) loan from Russia to shore up the nation's finances amid a full-blown financial crisis.

WASHINGTON The government is weighing a bold plan to buy massive amounts of unsecured short-term debts in a dramatic effort to break through a credit clog that is imperiling the economy.

SINGAPORE Oil prices rebounded to around $90 Tuesday in Asia after plunging to an 8-month low Monday on concerns a significant slowdown in global economic growth will undermine demand for crude.

SEOUL, South Korea Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday as a big interest rate cut in Australia helped spur recoveries in several regional markets, sparking hopes that other central banks will lower rates to help loosen the global credit crunch.

ROME A U.N. agency on Tuesday called for an urgent review of agriculture and biofuel subsidies and trade barriers, saying their removal would increase opportunities for developing countries to take advantage of rising biofuel demand.

DES MOINES, Iowa Like any farmer, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey is eager to put the pains - and the rains - of 2008 behind him.

TOKYO Japan's central bank left its key interest rate unchanged Tuesday amid heightened anxiety that the U.S. credit crisis was quickly spreading from Wall Street to Europe and beyond.

SYDNEY, Australia Australia's central bank cut its official interest rate by a bigger-than-expected 1 percentage point Tuesday to ease credit concerns amid a global financial turmoil, cheering investors around the region and lifting Australian stocks into positive territory

WASHINGTON The now-bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions in bonuses for fired executives as it pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began investigating what went so wrong on Wall Street to prompt a $700 billion government bailout.

WASHINGTON Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson turned to a familiar source when he picked a director for the government's $700 billion bailout program: his former Wall Street firm, Goldman Sachs.

NEW YORK State tax revenue rose slightly in the second quarter, but revenue from sales tax, fuel tax and property tax all dropped compared to a year ago, according to a report released Tuesday. The report warned that states and cities would be forced to cut spending as tax revenues dropped further.

BAGHDAD Recurrent violence in oil-rich parts of Nigeria may provide a sobering lesson for oil companies hoping to work in Iraq - a place that is much more dangerous despite the fact that attacks are at their lowest level in more than four years.

BAGHDAD Recurrent violence in oil-rich parts of Nigeria may provide a sobering lesson for oil companies hoping to work in Iraq - a place that is much more dangerous despite the fact that attacks are at their lowest level in more than four years.

NEW YORK State tax revenue rose slightly in the second quarter, but revenue from sales tax, fuel tax and property tax all dropped compared to a year ago, according to a report released Tuesday. The report warned that states and cities would be forced to cut spending as tax revenues dropped further.

WASHINGTON The government's $700 billion rescue, aimed at rebuilding economic confidence, appeared to sound a global alarm instead on Monday, triggering a fearful international sell-off as the U.S. began work on a plan that investors feared would be too little and too late to stave off a worldwide recession.

NEW YORK Wall Street joined in a worldwide cascade of despair Monday over the financial crisis, driving the Dow Jones industrials to their biggest loss ever during a trading day. Even a big afternoon rally failed to keep the Dow from its first close below 10,000 since 2004.

WASHINGTON Fear and uncertainty were hot commodities in global markets Monday.

LONDON Individual European governments issued a cascade 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.

NEW YORK Oil prices plunged below $90 a barrel Monday, coming within reach of year-ago levels as a widening financial maelstrom spreads overseas and crimps global demand for energy.

LUXEMBOURG 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.

NEW YORK Bank of America Corp. on Monday reported third-quarter results earlier than planned, revealing a wider-than-expected profit drop and plans to boost capital by selling $10 billion stock and halving its dividend.

NEW YORK The jammed credit markets barely budged Monday as governments around the world scrambled to prop up their failing banks and investors waited for details on how, exactly, the Treasury will go about buying $700 billion of U.S. banks' mortgage assets.

NEW YORK Commodities prices tumbled broadly Monday on growing expectations that the financial crisis pummeling world markets will dramatically reduce global demand for energy and raw materials. Gold prices shot up as investors' faith in stock markets dimmed further, touching off a desperate dash for safe alternative investments.

LONDON Stock markets slumped worldwide Monday, some marking record one-day drops, on fears the global financial crisis will worsen and hit the wider economy despite bank bailouts in the U.S. and Europe.

NEW YORK Wachovia, Citigroup and Wells Fargo on Monday agreed to a standstill of all formal litigation activity - a sign that the banks and the Federal Reserve are working feverishly to reach an agreement over the fate of Wachovia.

WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve has granted approval for Japan's largest bank to purchase a stake in U.S. investment giant Morgan Stanley.

NEW YORK Starbucks Corp. is facing another complaint from the National Labor Relations Board alleging that the gourmet coffee chain engaged in unfair labor practices by firing a barista in Michigan.

NEW YORK After a series of changes designed to draw more people to its online marketplace, eBay Inc.'s latest alteration is aimed at its own employees. The auction site operator said Monday it will cut about 1,600 jobs, 10 percent of its work force, in its largest round of dismissals ever.

INDIANAPOLIS Eli Lilly & Co.'s winning bid of more than $6 billion for cancer drugmaker ImClone Systems means a billion-dollar payday for former rival bidder Bristol-Myers and vindication for corporate raider and ImClone Chairman Carl Icahn.

HARRISBURG, Pa. Mars Inc. has closed a $23 billion deal to purchase chewing-gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the companies said Monday, making the combined business the world's largest candy maker.

NEW YORK Foodmaker Kraft Foods Inc. said Monday it is cutting 400 jobs in North America to reduce costs.

LOS ANGELES A man who was paid $2.5 million to be a plaintiff in a major lawsuit kickback scheme was sentenced Monday to three months in prison.

WHAT HAPPENED: Indianapolis-based drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. is buying the biotech firm ImClone Systems Inc. for more than $6 billion.

WASHINGTON A growing number of economists believe the country is on the brink of - or already in - its first recession since 2001 and that it will be longer lasting.

WASHINGTON The administration has selected a former Goldman Sachs executive to be the interim head of its $700 billion rescue effort for financial institutions.

DETROIT So you think junior is a little too lead-footed when he drives the family car? Starting next year, Ford Motor Co. will give you the power to do something about it.

WHAT'S UP: Retailers are expected to report dismal same-store sales figures on Wednesday, providing the first full gauge of consumer behavior since the financial meltdown began. The only bright spots will be discounters and wholesale clubs as customers focus on bare-bone essentials.

NEW YORK The weak retail sales merchants had been expected to post for September will likely prove to have been a disaster as the financial meltdown that began halfway through the month sent shoppers into hiding.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Facing a lawsuit over deceptive mortgage practices, Bank of America Corp. is agreeing to pay more than $8 billion to modify hundreds of thousands of loans to keep people from losing their homes.

NEW YORK The battle for control of troubled bank Wachovia tilted toward Wells Fargo Sunday as a state appeals court blocked a lower court ruling that had favored rival bidder Citigroup.

BERLIN Germany's finance minister said Monday he is considering creating a "shield" that would protect the country's entire financial sector, arguing it would not be possible to continue to address troubled financial institutions on a case by case basis.

LONDON European governments struggled to find a coordinated response to the crisis sweeping financial markets Monday, as countries one after the other announced sweeping deposit guarantees on their own to try and shore up their banks. Stock markets plunged.

Industry experts are beginning to unveil the list of what they believe will be hot toys for the holiday season. Here are a few that made both Timetoplaymag.com's "Most Wanted" list and Toy Insider's "Hot 20."

NEW YORK Will financial-market turmoil be the Grinch this Christmas?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said Monday it will receive a $2.5 billion investment from Allianz SE.

TRENTON, N.J. An injected Johnson & Johnson biologic drug used to treat several immune diseases controlled Crohn's disease, a difficult-to-treat bowel disorder, better than a widely used pill, a study found.

WASHINGTON Hurricane Ike's winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas, according to an analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. The buffet offers a variety of pizzas, with whole wheat crust, organic toppings and hormone-free cheese. The salad bar includes some greens and vegetables grown without pesticides in a nearby garden.

NEW YORK The original Carvel shop prepared to serve its last cones Sunday, more than seven decades after becoming the birthplace of an ice cream empire.

NEW YORK Hundreds of thousands of new cars and trucks that would have quickly made their way to people's driveways a year ago are now stacking up on dealer lots across the country, with potential buyers worried about whether they'll keep their jobs, be able to pay for gas, or qualify for a car loan.