Sponsored by Wachovia

Stocks turned slightly higher Tuesday afternoon following a choppy morning, influenced by record oil and gas prices, concerns about first-quarter financial results, rising inflation and upbeat earnings from Dow component Johnson & Johnson.

Wachovia Corp. investors were hit with a double-whammy on Monday, after the fourth largest U.S. bank reported an unexpected loss for the quarter, cut their dividends, and announced a plan to sell diluted stock.

U.S. Treasurys fell in price on Monday after more news of banks in crisis were offset by a government report showing slightly higher retail sales in March.

Wachovia Corp., the fourth largest U.S. bank, reported a first quarter loss on Monday and said it would strengthen its balance sheet by cutting the shareholder dividend and raising $7 billion in capital.

U.S. stocks fell on Monday for a second day after Wachovia Corp. reported an unexpected first quarter loss, adding to investors tension about earning reports after bellwether General Electric Corp. disappointed last week with its earnings loss.

Wall Street rose for the first time in three days on Thursday as investors bought back into stocks after two days of losses, after reports showed a drop in unemployment claims and a better-than-expected sales performance by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

U.S. stocks gained for a third day Wednesday as investors' mood brighten after Best Buy Co released earning results, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank will not need to save another financial firm.

Clear Channel Communications Inc completed the sale of its television group to Newport Television LLC for $1.1 billion, the U.S. radio operator said on Friday.c

As more banks report write-downs tied to the global credit crunch, analysts say Wachovia Corp may have losses lurking in an area that has garnered less investor attention.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates on Tuesday by at least a quarter-percentage point to fortify the economy against a credit crunch and housing slump that some economists fear could bring a recession. Economic signs show the economy has not gone into a precipitous slide. Deteriorating financial markets, however, led the Fed to say it saw risks rising.

Wells Fargo & Co, the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Tuesday it would take a $1.4 billion fourth-quarter charge largely related to losses on home equity loans as the nation's housing market deteriorates.

Citigroup Inc's decision to raise $7.5 billion in capital is a signal to analysts and investors that the largest U.S. bank is likely to have a rough fourth quarter -- perhaps even worse than it has projected. Citigroup may not be overpaying for the capital, according to convertible bond experts, but if the bank was ready to post excellent results in coming quarters, it would not likely be paying 11 percent a year for money from Abu Dhabi, investors said.

Bank of America Corp, the second-largest U.S. bank, said on Tuesday it expects to write down $3 billion of debt in the fourth quarter as fallout from the nation's housing slump deepens.

Banks worldwide may lose as much as $400 billion from subprime mortgages, as at least one in four of the risky home loans go into default, analysts said on Monday. Mike Mayo, an analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc, estimated $150 billion to $250 billion of losses based on $1.2 trillion of U.S. subprime loans, and an additional $150 billion of losses on derivatives linked to subprime debt.

The credit crisis deepened on Friday as Wachovia Corp reported a potential $1.7 billion loss on mortgage-related debt, while credit card company Capital One Financial Corp said more customers are missing payments.

Stocks fell for a third session on Friday after a disappointing outlook from Qualcomm Inc triggered more weakness in technology shares and helped send the Nasdaq down to its biggest weekly point loss since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The wireless technology developer late Thursday forecast 2008 earnings and revenue below analysts' expectations, a day after Cisco Systems Inc warned about demand from its customers in the banking sector.

Stocks fell on Friday, hit by a drop in technology shares, including Microsoft Corp, on concern about the profit outlook, while news of more credit losses dragged on financial services companies.

Wachovia Corp said on Friday it suffered a $1.1 billion loss on subprime mortgage-related debt in October, while Capital One Financial Corp said more customers are having trouble paying their bills as the U.S. credit crisis deepened.

Wachovia Corp, the fourth-largest U.S. bank, said on Friday that it had incurred about $1.1 billion of further losses in October from credit market turmoil.

British bank Barclays Plc categorically denied rumors it was about to announce a $10 billion writedown and see its top management quit, after the market talk sent its shares tumbling over 9 percent. There is absolutely no substance to those rumors, a spokesman for Britain's third biggest bank said when asked about a possible $10 billion writedown.

Large U.S. banks and brokerages will suffer additional write-downs of more than $10 billion in the fourth quarter as deteriorating credit trends continue to undercut the value of subprime mortgages and related securities, a Deutsche Bank analyst said.

U.S. stocks rose on Monday ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting where policy makers are expected to make an a cut in interest rates.

Merrill Lynch, the world’s largest brokerage, saw its stock price soar on Friday amid speculation that its Chairman and Chief Executive Stan O’Neal would be forced out and that the company could be acquired.

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc Chairman and Chief Executive Stan O'Neal has told friends he expects to be ousted by the end of the weekend, CNBC television reported on Friday.

Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Stan O'Neal broached the idea of merging with Wachovia Corp. without first getting board approval, angering some members so much they considered replacements for O'Neal, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Wachovia Corp posted on Friday a 10 percent decline in third-quarter profit, missing forecasts, as the fourth-largest U.S. bank suffered $1.3 billion of write-downs at its investment banking unit.

Big banks try to gird for crises as a matter of course and investors will soon learn how prepared they were for this summer's credit crunch. Analysts and investors are speculating how badly Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase & Co and smaller rivals may have gotten caught by a flight from risk that caused the value of billions of dollars of mortgages and loans to evaporate.

Two of the largest U.S. banking companies said on Monday that tough credit market conditions may cause higher losses related to lending.

One week into the Federal Reserve's effort to grease the rusty wheels of the U.S. credit system, Wall Street is wondering just who needs the money because there's no line at the window.