NEW YORK (AP) -- A stunning makeover of the Wall Street landscape sent stocks falling precipitously Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials sliding 500 points in their worst point drop since the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Investors reacted badly to a shakeup of the financial industry that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. ...more

September 15, 2008

In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street's history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer, people briefed on the deals said. ...more

September 15, 2008

When federal regulators start writing new rules for financial institutions next year, they should demand big changes in how bankers and traders are paid. ...more

September 13, 2008

To see the mental state of financial markets at the moment you need only to sit at a computer with an Internet connection and watch investors respond to journalism. ...more

September 12, 2008

The Bush administration, acting to avert the potential for major financial turmoil, announced Sunday that the federal government was taking control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ...more

September 8, 2008

The Bush administration, acting to avert the potential for major financial turmoil, says the federal government was taking control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ...more

September 7, 2008

Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, a longtime fixture on the list of the world's richest people, now is ensconced atop The Associated Press' rankings of the top-paid chief executives in the United States. ...more

August 22, 2008

Never mind. Or, in the words of Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer John Thain, "Our clients have been caught in an unprecedented liquidity crisis. We are solving it by giving them the option of selling their positions back to us." ...more

August 13, 2008

To be comfortable is to be "in a state of tranquil enjoyment and content; free from pain and trouble; at ease," the Oxford English Dictionary says. It's hard to think of a less appropriate description of the situation at Merrill Lynch & Co. after the bank's latest pirouette. ...more

August 1, 2008

Focused on getting the nation's credit gears smoothly working again, the Federal Reserve is letting Wall Street firms draw emergency loans into next year and giving financial companies more options to help them overcome credit problems. ...more

July 31, 2008