Reuters - Wall Street closed out its worst year since the Great Depression on Wednesday after an unstoppable credit crisis and a dreadful economic outlook left investors questioning their faith in stock markets.
Reuters - U.S. crude oil rose 14 percent on the final trading day of 2008 in thin pre-holiday trade on Wednesday, tracking a jump in gasoline as a slowdown in domestic refinery activity sparked fears of tightening fuel supply this winter.
Reuters - Many investors said good riddance on Wednesday to one of the worst years on record and prayed that government rescue plans will pull the global economy out of its fierce tailspin later in the new year.
Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff will send U.S. regulators a list of his assets, liabilities and property by Wednesday’s court-ordered deadline, his lawyer said.
Reuters - Despite holiday shoppers’ last-minute bargain-hunting sprees, ShopperTrak on Wednesday lowered its 2008 U.S. holiday retail sales forecast to call for a decline of 2.3 percent on a 16 percent drop in traffic and said it expected an even weaker store performance in January.
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell to a record low for the third straight week and borrowers took advantage of the drop, sending new applications soaring.
AP - There are countless personal finance books that advise readers on budgeting, investing and paying down debt. Few leave the tips aside and ask you to question your relationship with money and the reasons you spend what you do.
Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday as Wall Street neared the end of its worst year since the Great Depression, with equities bolstered for the second straight day on bets that fresh initiatives from Washington will help stave off a deep recession.
Reuters - U.S. weekly jobless claims plummeted last week but the improvement was probably a seasonal quirk rather than a turning point for the recession-ravaged labor market.
AP - On New Year’s Day, Slovakia becomes the 16th European Union member state to adopt the euro. Jan. 1, 2009, also marks 10 years since the euro was introduced. A timeline: