UNITED STATES

Asia stocks slid on Friday after a warning from General Motors' that it may need to file for bankruptcy drove Wall Street shares to 12-year lows and highlighted the severe troubles of major U.S. companies and banks.

The U.S. Federal Reserve refused to identify trading partners benefiting from a $180-billion taxpayer bailout of American International Group as one lawmaker said Europe's financial stability was at stake in the rescue of the insurer.

General Electric Co acknowledged on Thursday that a cut in its top-tier credit rating was possible, but its chief financial officer said there was no time bomb hidden in its hefty finance arm.

Stocks slid on Thursday with the Dow and S&P falling to 12-year lows as General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy and concerns about the banking system's fate reinforced investors' reluctance to take on risk.

Stocks slid on Thursday with the Dow and S&P falling to 12-year lows as General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy and concerns about the banking system's fate reinforced investors' reluctance to take on risk.

A widely anticipated cut to General Electric Co's credit ratings would likely not take the U.S. conglomerate below the double-A level, bond experts and GE's chief financial officer said on Thursday.

With about three months to go, U.S. regulators say some consumers are still unprepared for the television industry switch to digital broadcasting, which will affect Americans who do not receive their signals through cable or satellite.

Stocks extended their slide to 12-year lows on Thursday as General Motors' warning of possible bankruptcy and concerns about the fate of the banking system sped investors' flight from riskier assets.

Amazon.com Inc will allow shoppers to trade in used video games for store credit, a move that may challenge a core driver of profitability for No. 1 U.S. game retailer GameStop Corp.

A senior Democratic lawmaker said on Thursday he would push to pass legislation to repeal a three-year-old U.S. ban on Internet gambling that has hurt trade ties with European Union.

Amazon.com said on Thursday that it would allow shoppers to trade-in used videogames for store credit, a move that may challenge a core driver of profitability for game retailer GameStop.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Thursday pledged to work with Congress to pass legislation that would impose a cap-and-trade system to curb greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming.

U.S. stocks are trading at compelling prices after their plunge to 12-year lows this week and could rally 25 percent by the end of the year, said Jim O'Shaughnessy, a well-known investor on Wall Street.

Stocks slid on Thursday, hit by persistent worries about major banks, including Citigroup , and a warning from General Motors about a possible bankruptcy.

With about three months to go, U.S. regulators say some consumers are still unprepared for the television industry switch to digital broadcasting, which will affect Americans who do not receive their signals through cable or satellite.

U.S. regulators failed to spot how much risk insurer AIG was piling on, and by the time they understood, they had no choice but to pour in tens of billions of public dollars, officials said on Thursday.

Ford Motor Co's new debt tender marked the latest string of corporate debt restructurings designed to help get the automaker on stronger footing amid a prolonged credit crisis.

U.S. retailers posted better-than-expected February same-store sales on Thursday due to a strong gain at discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc , which said lower gasoline prices had loosened some household budgets.

General Electric Co acknowledged on Thursday that a cut in its top-tier credit rating was possible, but its chief financial officer said there was no time bomb hidden in its hefty finance arm.

U.S. stocks extended declines on Thursday, hurt by a warning from General Motors about possible bankruptcy and persistent uncertainty about the fate of major banks.

About one in eight U.S. homeowners with mortgages, a record share, ended 2008 behind on their loan payments or in the foreclosure process as job losses intensified a housing crisis spawned by lax lending practices, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.