AFP - HBOS, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, revealed Wednesday it is in advanced talks that could lead to a takeover offer by its rival Lloyds TSB, after its shares plummeted for a third day running. Read more…

AP - Homeowners rushed to take advantage of last week's drop in interest rates following the government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but rates are rising again on investor fears over the eroding conditions in financial markets. Read more…

AP - Russia cemented its ties with Georgia's two breakaway provinces on Wednesday by signing friendship treaties envisaging close economic and military cooperation. Read more…

The Motley Fool - Recent events have called to mind the Great Depression and that era's run on bank deposits, which forced many financial institutions to close. Younger investors may remember the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, in which savings institutions were too aggressive in obtaining deposits and making risky loans, forcing many of them to shut down. Numerous small life-insurance companies and other financial institutions have been forced to close due to insolvency. Read more…

AFP - The global financial firestorm claimed a fresh victim Wednesday as top British mortgage lender HBOS said it was in takeover talks after a huge US bailout of insurer AIG helped underpin volatile share prices. Read more…

AFP - The European economy will suffer collateral damage from the crisis roiling the financial sector, although the extent of the fallout remains to be seen, ministers and analysts warned on Wednesday. Read more…

AP - Embattled British mortgage lender HBOS PLC has confirmed that it is in advanced talks about being taken over Lloyds TSB PLC. Read more…

Reuters - Construction starts on new U.S. homes plummeted to a 17-1/2-year low during August as builders scaled back sharply to try to cope with the worst slump in U.S. housing since the Great Depression. Read more…

AFP - London shares struggled Wednesday as financial market chaos sparked the overnight rescue of US insurance giant AIG and a reported takeover bid for bank HBOS. Read more…

AP - Russia moved to bolster the country's increasingly stressed banking sector Wednesday, as the global economic turmoil deepened fears that the country could face a crisis similar to the one 10 years ago. Read more…

Reuters - An $85 billion dollar U.S. lifeline for American International Group gave some respite to battered financial stocks, while the UK's biggest mortgage lender HBOS Plc and Lloyds TSB contemplated a merger which would reshape British banking. Read more…

AFP - Shares in the top home-loan lender HBOS swung wildly on Wednesday amid a report it might be taken over, spinning London stocks into volatile uncertainty after an overnight rescue for US insurer AIG. Read more…

Reuters - British bank Lloyds TSB is in merger talks with the country's biggest mortgage lender HBOS Plc , a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Read more…

AFP - The share price of bank HBOS tumbled by 35 percent in early morning trade here on Wednesday, dragging London's FTSE 100 leading shares index back into negative territory. Read more…

AFP - US financier George Soros warned in a television interview Tuesday that the turmoil in the financial markets was far from over, with Britain likely to be the economy most badly hit by the crisis. Read more…

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought on Tuesday to link his Republican rival to the turmoil sweeping Wall Street, and John McCain fired back that Obama had close ties to the troubled mortgage industry. Read more…

FT.com - The nationalisation of Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac, and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) take us into the most dangerous financial territory since the 1930s. Of course there are similarities to earlier crises. The attempts by Fannie and Freddie to trade their way out of problems on an outrageously thin capital base are redolent of the savings and loan fiasco of the 1980s. ... Read more…

AFP - The FTSE index was down 3.43 percent to 5025.6 points as traders continued to react to the global panic caused by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers bank. Read more…

AFP - London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares on Tuesday tumbled below 5,000 points for the first time in more than three years as global financial markets continued to suffer from the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Read more…

AP - Major European central banks pumped yet more billions in short-term credit into the financial system Tuesday in an effort to shore up confidence in the aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America Corp. Read more…

AP - A Congress criticized for being asleep at the switch while financial problems festered is eyeing tough new regulations for investment banks and a new government role in the mortgage market as Wall Street reels from another round of collapses. Read more…

AP - World stock markets swooned again Tuesday as global financial crisis make investors worry that asset prices had yet to hit rock bottom. Read more…

AP - Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday as the collapse of Lehman Brothers and takeover of Merrill Lynch spurred fears of a global financial crisis. European markets, which fell sharply Monday, extended losses in early trading. Read more…

Reuters - The recently ousted chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are eligible for the pensions and 401k savings plans they built up while working for the mortgage giants, The Wall Street Journal said, citing a regulatory official. Read more…

Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc , was downgraded to "junk" status on Monday by Standard & Poor's amid concern about mortgage losses, causing shares of the largest U.S. savings and loan to slide after-hours following a 27 percent plunge in regular trading. Read more…