The bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers on Monday and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America over the weekend rocked Wall Street, so it's no surprise that the ongoing crisis has many average Americans nervous. Before you start pulling money out of your bank account or sell off investments, here are some things to keep in mind: ...more

September 16, 2008

Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old investment bank choked by the credit crisis and falling real estate values, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the biggest bankruptcy court filing ever on Monday and said it was trying to sell off key business units. ...more

September 16, 2008

Oil prices closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months Monday, tumbling more than $5 as the demise of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch fed worries about the U.S. economy. ...more

September 16, 2008

In another unnerving day for Wall Street, investors suffered their worst losses since the Sept. 11 attacks, and government officials raced to prevent the financial crisis from spreading. ...more

September 16, 2008

Merrill Lynch's shotgun sale to Bank of America will create the nation's largest financial services company - one that some say is too big to fail. Still, no one is breathing easy just yet. ...more

September 16, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- A stunning makeover of the Wall Street landscape sent stocks falling precipitously Monday, with the Dow Jones industrials sliding 500 points in their worst point drop since the September 2001 terrorist attacks. Investors reacted badly to a shakeup of the financial industry that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. ...more

September 15, 2008

In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street's history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer, people briefed on the deals said. ...more

September 15, 2008

When federal regulators start writing new rules for financial institutions next year, they should demand big changes in how bankers and traders are paid. ...more

September 13, 2008

To see the mental state of financial markets at the moment you need only to sit at a computer with an Internet connection and watch investors respond to journalism. ...more

September 12, 2008

The Bush administration, acting to avert the potential for major financial turmoil, announced Sunday that the federal government was taking control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. ...more

September 8, 2008