Apple's stock hit by Web rumor

By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Apple shares fell sharply Friday morning after an erroneous Web report saying founder and CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack. Shares quickly recovered after it became clear the rumor was not true.

The posting, made on iReport, a user-generated content site run by CNN, said, "Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack," according to Silicon Alley Insider, a blog that took a screen shot of the posting.

Apple's stock fell 10% in 10 minutes, then recovered to trade flat most of the session before closing 3% lower.

Apple's stock hit by Web rumor....

Citigroup Girds for Wachovia Takeover Battle With Wells Fargo

By David Mildenberg and Josh Fineman

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., hobbled by $61 billion of subprime-related losses, now faces its biggest takeover battle in a fight with Wells Fargo & Co. for control of Wachovia Corp.

Citigroup fell as much as 21 percent yesterday in New York trading after Wells Fargo, the biggest U.S. bank on the West Coast, agreed to acquire all of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia for $15.1 billion. The bid trumped Citigroup's government-backed offer of $2.16 billion for Wachovia's banking operations.

``The taxpayer doesn't pay a penny'' for the Wells Fargo deal, Wells Chairman Richard Kovacevich, 64, said yesterday in an interview. His company's bid is superior to Citigroup's also because it's a higher price and the combining banks ``share similar cultures and values.''

Citigroup Girds for Wachovia Takeover Battle With Wells Fargo....

Bush Signs Bank Rescue to End `Threat to Economy'

By Christopher Stern and Laura Litvan

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush signed a $700 billion financial-market rescue plan into law, calling it a ``decisive action to ease the credit crunch that is now threatening our economy.''

The bipartisan legislation was sent yesterday to Bush after it was approved by the House, reversing its Sept. 29 rejection of the measure, which had sent global stock markets plunging. The bill, approved on Oct. 1 by the Senate with $149 billion in tax breaks to attract House votes, authorizes the government to buy troubled assets from financial institutions reeling from record home foreclosures. It also affirms regulators' power to suspend asset-valuing rules that companies blame for fueling the crisis.

``This was a difficult vote for many members of the House and Senate, but voting for it was the right choice for America's economy and for taxpayers like you,'' Bush said in his weekly radio address today. ``I appreciate their efforts to help stop the crisis in our financial markets from spreading to our entire economy.''

Bush Signs Bank Rescue to End `Threat to Economy'....

Auto sales plunge as credit crunch hits

By Kevin Krolicki

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major automakers reported plunging U.S. sales for September -- led by a 34 percent slide at Ford Motor Co -- as an escalating credit crisis hit the slumping industry and raised new doubts about when the world's largest auto market would stabilize.

The 26-percent drop in industry-wide auto sales was sharper than expected and coincided with a crisis on Wall Street that automakers said rocked consumer confidence and made it harder for remaining shoppers to finance vehicles.

Sales were down 24 percent at Honda Motor Co, 32 percent at Toyota Motor Corp and 37 percent at Nissan Motor Co. Chrysler LLC sales were down 33 percent.

Auto sales plunge as credit crunch hits....

House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge

By CARL HULSE and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

WASHINGTON — In a moment of historic import in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry. The vote came in stunning defiance of President Bush and Congressional leaders of both parties, who said the bailout was needed to prevent a widespread financial collapse.

The vote against the measure was 228 to 205, with 133 Republicans joining 95 Democrats in opposition. The bill was backed by 140 Democrats and 65 Republicans.

House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge....

FDIC Announces Citigroup to Buy Wachovia

By Binyamin Appelbaum, Neil Irwin and Howard Schneider
Washington Post Staff Writers

Citigroup has agreed to buy Wachovia bank in a deal backstopped by taxpayers and brokered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to avoid another major corporate failure in the midst of the ongoing financial crisis.

Citigroup will pay the Charlotte-based Wachovia about $2.16 billion, or $1 per share, for its banking operations. Wachovia will retain its wealth management and brokerage operations.

The deal boosts Citigroup as a third rival for Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase in the new category of financial behemoths that are emerging from the current financial crisis. Those three banks will now control almost a third of the nation's deposits.

FDIC Announces Citigroup to Buy Wachovia....

The Real Costs of the Bailouts

Last week, as federal regulators seized Washington Mutual in the largest U.S. banking failure, Congress was grappling with whether to spend $700 billion of public money to fix the financial industry's troubles.

Lawmakers' initial reaction to the Treasury Department's staggering request: shock. That sum amounts to about a quarter of the U.S. government's annual spending. It's more than the Pentagon's annual budget, more than the nation pays out each year in Social Security benefits and more than the federal government's cost for Medicare and Medicaid.

The Real Costs of the Bailouts....