NEW YORK (Reuters) – Americans slashed spending and the country’s business outlook weakened but there were signs of stabilization in global markets on Friday, with interbank rates falling and U.S. stocks posting their best week in 34 years.

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Consumers slash spending, world markets stabilize

DETROIT (Reuters) – U.S. auto sales are expected to plunge to the lowest levels of the year in October and possibly the slowest running rate in two decades, with no certainty of when consumer confidence will return.

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October auto sales may have hit two-decade low

What is it about October and stocks? The month that brought the 1929 crash, Black Monday in 1987 and other midautumn market crises delivered its worst monthly performance in 21 years. And not even the best week in 34 years could keep the market from suffering…

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Stocks end Oct. with worst performance in 21 years

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Boeing Deal: Expect a Close Vote

Regulators on Friday shut down Freedom Bank, a small bank located in Bradenton, Fla. It was the 17th failure this year of a federally insured bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the bank, which had $287 million in assets and $…

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Regulators shut down Freedom Bank in Florida

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. bank regulators on Friday closed Freedom Bank in Florida, the 17th bank to fail this year as the weakening economy and falling home prices take their toll on financial institutions.

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Small Florida bank is 17th bank failure in ’08

Here are the lyrics to Canary Wolf’s “Credit Crunch.” Forget climate change, the price of petrol and starvation, There’s a new fear sweeping the nation The boy in the market shouted “Hey look at this, it’s nought _ but a piece of paper and a promise” Word of…

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Lyrics to UK band Canary Wolf’s “Credit Crunch”

Are you feeling low and lonesome, or really subprime? A band of guitar-playing construction workers say they want to rock their way through the recession and put smiles on the faces of British bankers. Playing their song “Credit Crunch” atop a building site…

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UK construction workers want to rock the recession

Rebuilding Afghanistan will be difficult, and proper scrutiny of the $32 billion and counting being invested in reconstruction by the U.S. will require additional staff and funding, according to the new inspector general in charge of the audits. In his first…

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Auditor cites Afghanistan rebuilding challenges

Evidence of a recession piled ever higher Friday, with new figures showing Americans are spending less and gloomy about the economy, while the government signaled it won’t buy stock in the financing arms of auto companies to prop them up. The Commerce…

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Evidence of a recession piles higher with new data

A California woman and her husband have been arrested on suspicion of misappropriating millions of dollars from software provider McAfee Inc. The Santa Clara District Attorney’s office says 35-year-old Susan Despinic of Los Gatos and her husband, 37-year-old…

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Former McAfee employee arrested

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Wal-Mart’s Downturn Upswing

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Wal-Mart Gears Up for the Downturn

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JPMorgan Chase Freezes Foreclosures

The chairman of the House Financial Service Committee accused financial institutions on Friday of “distorting” the government’s $700 billion economic bailout plan by using funds for bonuses, dividends and acquisitions. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said such…

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Frank angry at banks over bailout plans