washingtonpost.com - Business

The financial system, which had recently shown glimmers of improvement, is unraveling again.

With two of Detroit's Big Three automakers teetering on the brink of collapse, congressional leaders yesterday refused to advance a proposal for a federal bailout, saying auto industry executives had failed to persuade lawmakers that they would make good use of the money.

With the stock market crumbling and the economy shrinking, a whiff of deflation is in the air.

A collection of Margaret Atwood's thoughts and beliefs called "Payback" supposes that civilization is built on credits and debits.

After a brutal two-day sell-off, stocks were flat today as some investors looked for bargains.

Wal-Mart announced this morning that the head of its international division will take over as chief executive of the world's largest retailer after the holiday season.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 20 -- Argentina's Senate on Thursday night gave final approval to the government's plan to nationalize the private pension system in an attempt to protect retirement investments from the international financial crisis.

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 -- Another levee in the financial markets is crumbling.

With lawmakers weighing the possibility of allowing one of the nation's automakers to fail, some on Wall Street and in Detroit are arguing that the consequences of failure could reach far beyond the industry and into the broader economy.

The crippled stock market and stagnant economy have driven many companies to seek relief from a rule requiring that they keep their pensions fully funded. Four senators sought to come to the companies' aid this week, but their measure has come up short, for now.

BEIJING -- They have been coming here from all over China, businessmen and local officials looking for a slice of the Chinese stimulus.

Poor Hank Paulson doesn't deserve the drubbing he's been getting.