By Roger Runningen and John Hughes
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC will get $13.4 billion in initial government loans to keep operating in exchange for substantially restructuring their businesses under a rescue plan announced by President George W. Bush.
The money will be drawn from the Troubled Asset Relief Program set up [...]

By Lara Moscrip, CNNMoney.com contributing writer
Rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 5.19% this week, after the Fed slashed interest rates to historic lows.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Mortgage rates fell this week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage sinking to its lowest rate in 37 years as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to historic [...]

By Mark Shenk
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil fell below $38 a barrel for the first time since July 2004 on speculation that OPEC hasn’t trimmed production enough to bolster prices as demand drops.
Futures have tumbled 74 percent from a record $147.27 on July 11 as inventories increased and consumption declined. The Organization of Petroleum [...]

By Liz Capo McCormick and Gavin Finch
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — For all their efforts to liquefy credit markets, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury show no signs of ending the 18-month freeze, as evidenced by the unprecedented gap between what banks and the U.S. government pay to borrow money.
The difference between the London interbank offered [...]

By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Roiled by broader market turmoil, the Wall Street firm reported much worse-than-expected results in latest quarter; shares fall on the news.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Morgan Stanley reported a massive $2.3 billion loss for the fourth quarter Tuesday, far worse than what analysts were expecting.
The nation’s No. 2 investment bank posted [...]

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Wall Street advances as investors gear up for an interest rate cut from the central bank.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks rallied Tuesday as investors welcomed reports that a bailout for the automakers could be announced Wednesday – and geared up for the conclusion of the Federal Reserve meeting.
The Dow Jones [...]

By Christine Harper
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. eliminated 2,500 jobs in the fourth quarter and slashed average pay per worker 45 percent to $363,654 as the firm posted the first quarterly loss since going public almost a decade ago.
Expenses for compensation and benefits fell 46 percent to $10.9 billion from a record [...]

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Home prices are have been hit hard, yet there is still no end in sight to the foreclosure crisis, according to Zillow.com.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — American homeowners will collectively lose more than $2 trillion in home value by the end of 2008, according to a report released Monday.
The real estate [...]

By Whitney Kisling
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, wiping out last week’s gains, after reports showed the manufacturing slump is worsening and analysts said the shrinking economy will hurt earnings at companies from Apple Inc. to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Apple slid 4.5 percent after the maker of iPods was downgraded to “neutral” at Goldman [...]

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Even if Congress approves a bailout for the Big Three, experts say the CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler will be back on Capitol Hill asking for more money in 2009.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — One thing is certain about the proposed auto industry bailout: it’s going to end up being [...]

By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large
Now that he’s spent nearly all of the bailout’s first $350 billion, here’s what Congress should demand before releasing the remaining money.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Whether you love or hate the idea of Washington loaning the Big Three money, the government has learned its lessons from the [...]

By Daniel Kruger and Cordell Eddings
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Treasuries rose, pushing rates on the three-month bill negative for the first time, as investors gravitate toward the safety of U.S. government debt amid the worse financial crisis since the Great Depression.
The Treasury sold $27 billion of three-month bills yesterday at a discount rate of 0.005 [...]

By Associated Press on CNNMoney.com
October construction spending falls more than analysts had expected, a sign of persistent economic weakness.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction spending fell by a larger-than-expected amount in October, another indication the problems facing builders in the form of a sinking economy and severe credit crisis are deepening and likely to persist.
The Commerce Department [...]

By Lynn Thomasson
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks declined, halting a five- day advance, on growing concern the global economic slump is deepening and consumers’ access to credit is shrinking.
General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc. lost more than 8 percent following a report that manufacturing contracted in November at the fastest pace in 26 years. [...]