Growing evidence that the worldwide bank rescue plans have come too late to avert a deep global recession drove down stock markets in Europe, the US and Asia

Faced with falling stock markets, liquidity and recession fears, governments throughout the region have begun to question whether last week's co-ordinated rescue efforts in the US and Europe will prevent the crisis deepening across the world

John McCain, trailing in opinion polls in the race for the White House, met Barack Obama for their third and final presidential debate under pressure to show he could yet turn his campaign around

Commodities prices fell across the board, with oil tumbling below $75 a barrel on Wednesday, amid mounting investor concern that recent government and central bank actions to unfreeze credit markets will fail to avert a global recession

JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and State Street - three of the nine big banks due to receive capital injections from the US government - reported total third-quarter profits of more than $2.6bn, highlighting the different needs of companies receiving assistance under the rescue plan

Asian stocks fell as much as 9 per cent and oil prices dropped to a one-year low on Thursday after downbeat U.S. economic data spread fears of a more protracted and sharp global slowdown than initially expected

A slowdown in Chinese demand has forced Rio Tinto to revise its expansion plans, the miner's chief executive warned in a move that triggered a sharp global sell-off in sector stocks

Accounting rules blamed by some banks for exacerbating the financial turmoil were eased in the EU, bringing its 27 countries in line with changes agreed by international accounting rulemakers

India's biggest and most-established private airline, Jet Airways, is cutting 1,900 jobs from its 13,000 workforce, a move it says is necessary to stave off collapse given the 'exceptional' pressures confronting the airline industry

Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft drinks company, reported a 14 per cent in its third-quarter earnings, as robust international growth again offset slowing US consumer demand

Asia-Pacific equities moved lower on Wednesday as concerns over the global economic crisis overshadowed the euphoria from the European and US plans to shore up their financial sectors

Telecom New Zealand has issued a second profits warning in just over two months after announcing it would spend NZ$574m (US$356m) on its next generation mobile network during the next two years

Ripplewood, the US private equity firm, and a Russian manufacturer have both submitted bids to acquire Daewoo Electronics, the South Korean's group's main creditor said on Wednesday

Kevin Rudd joined international leaders calling for a crackdown on executive pay in the financial services industry which the Australian prime minister said had contributed to an era of "extreme capitalism" and excessive risk taking

Iceland's central bank slashed interest rates from 15.5 per cent to 12 per cent, citing the 'grave situation' facing the country, whose banking system collapsed last week