U.S. stocks blasted by economy to end at five-year-plus lows
Last Update: 11/19/2008 5:51:00 PM
U.S. stocks decline after the biggest-ever drop in consumer prices and another gloomy housing report offer little cheer to investors already fretting about the fate of the Big Three automakers.
$INDU,  C,  GM,  F,  $SPX,  COMP,  LNC,  HIG,  DXY

Citi shares in record slump, credit-default swap spreads widen
Last Update: 11/19/2008 4:41:00 PM
Citigroup's credit-default swap spreads widen and its shares fall after the bank takes on more than $17 billion in assets from structured investment vehicles and shuts another hedge fund.
C,  HBC,  MS,  BAC,  JPM,  WB

FOMC sees yearlong recession, minutes show
Last Update: 11/19/2008 4:24:00 PM
Federal Reserve policymakers now expect the U.S. economy to contract for as much as a year, with the risk that the slowdown could persist for even longer, according to edited minutes of a closed-door meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

Hearings lay bare Detroit's credibility crisis
Last Update: 11/19/2008 2:34:00 PM
Detroit’s top executives are back on Capitol Hill, begging Uncle Sam again for $25 billion in emergency loans to avoid tumbling into bankruptcy. It's a sad spectacle, writes Jim Jelter.
GM,  F

HUD expands mortgage modification program
Last Update: 11/19/2008 4:37:00 PM
The federal government announces plans to modify a program to make it easier for troubled homeowners to exchange problematic mortgages for more inexpensive ones.