Fed sees economic woes persisting into next year
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pounded by a fierce financial crisis, the country is sinking deeper into economic despair and is likely to be in the hole well into next year, forcing more Americans into the ranks of the unemployed....

Asian markets extend world rout on recession fears
HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets tumbled Thursday, with benchmarks in Japan and Hong Kong both losing more than 5 percent, after fears of a protracted recession sent Wall Street plunging to it lowest point in five years....

Oil falls below $53 on fears of deep recession
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices fell below $53 to almost a two-year low Thursday in Asia as investors, egged on by plummeting stock markets, priced in lower crude demand from a global economic downturn that's shaping up as the worst in decades....

GM, Chrysler scale back glitz at LA auto show
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Chrysler and General Motors are still showing off their newest vehicles at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but their displays were noticeably quiet Wednesday while Asian and European companies unveiled new models that will likely chip away at the U.S. market share....

Dow falls below 8,000, S&P at 5-year low
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark amid a dour economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of Detroit's three automakers....

Ballmer dismisses Yahoo buyout but open on search
BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo Inc., CEO Steve Ballmer said Wednesday, though he told shareholders that the company would still be "very open" to a collaboration on Internet search. His comments sent Yahoo shares diving more than 20 percent....

Consumer prices drop record 1 percent in October
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumer prices plunged by the largest amount in the past 61 years in October as gasoline pump prices dropped by a record amount....

Fed sharply lowers forecasts, hints of rate cut
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sharply lowered its projections for economic activity this year and next, and signaled that additional interest rate reductions may be needed to help combat the worst financial crisis to jolt the country in more than a half-century....

Democrats seek to lower expectations for bailout
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Top Senate Democrats suggested Wednesday that a bill to rescue Detroit's Big Three automakers was stalled and challenged the Bush administration to take steps to save the industry if congressional efforts falter. The White House quickly rebuffed the suggestion....

US home construction sinks to new record low
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Construction of new homes plunged last month to the lowest level on records going back nearly 50 years as U.S. builders slashed production while Wall Street nosedived....