CNNMoney - Last Updated: August 8, 2008: 5:53 PM EDT

The Dow surges 300 points as investors welcome a nearly $5-per-barrel plunge in crude prices and a stronger U.S. dollar.

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks soared Friday, with the Dow industrials spiking more than 300 points, as oil prices slumped almost $5 a barrel to three-month lows and the dollar rallied against other major currencies.

The slide in oil prices, in combination with a strong dollar, helped distract investors from the latest bad news out of the financial sector - including Fannie Mae’s steep quarterly loss.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained more than 300 points, or 2.7%. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 (SPX) index gained 2.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 2.5%.

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BUSINESSWEEK - Market Snapshot August 8, 2008, 5:21PM EST

Major U.S. stock staged a huge rally Friday to cap a wild week of trading. Traders ignored a larger than expected loss from mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae (FNM), focusing instead on a fresh plunge in crude oil prices and a big move higher for the U.S. dollar.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 302.89 points, or 2.65%, to 11,734.32. The broader S&P 500 index added 30.25 points, or 2.39%, to 1,296.31. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 58.37 points, or 2.48%, to 2,414.10.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 24 stocks gained in price for every seven that fell. The ratio on the Nasdaq was 19-8 positive. Trading was slow.

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CNNMoney - Special Report Issue #1: America’s Money - This week on CNN, Last Updated: August 7, 2008: 6:29 PM EDT

NY strikes deal with Citigroup to buy back troubled securities from small investors and charities at 100% of their value. Merrill also offers clients their money back.

By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — If your bank contacts you about a bond-like investment you made some time ago, don’t ignore it. You could benefit from an unusual settlement that will allow you to get back 100% of your investment’s value.

Citigroup announced Thursday that by Nov. 5 it would buy back so-called auction-rate securities from individual investors, charities and businesses with assets of $10 million or less. Hours later, Merrill Lynch (ML) announced it too would buy back retail investors’ auction-rate securities at par. Some 30,000 retail customers hold a total of $12 billion of these securities.

“Our clients have been caught in an unprecedented liquidity crisis,” said John Thain, Merril’s chief executive officer. “We are solving it by giving them the option of selling their positions to us.”

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BUSINESSWEEK - Market Snapshot August 7, 2008, 5:01PM EST

Jobless claims rose to their highest level in six years, while AIG reported another $11.6 billion in investment losses

by Ben Steverman

The stock market’s seesaw ride continued Thursday. Major indexes gave up nearly all of the week’s gains amid more worries about the economy and the financial sector, sparked by a rise in jobless claims and an $11.6 billion hit to the balance sheet of insurance giant American International Group (AIG).

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 224.64 points, or 1.93%, to 11,431.43. The broader S&P 500 index lost 23.13 points, or 1.79%, to 1,266.06. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 22.64 points, or 0.95%, to 2,355.73.

Despite a 3.2% rally on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday’s decline puts the S&P 500 at nearly the same level it started the week. On the New York Stock Exchange, 24 stocks fell for every 7 in positive territory. On the Nasdaq, the ratio was 18 to 10 negative.

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CNNMoney - Last Updated: August 6, 2008: 6:46 PM EDT

Consultant firm projects bonuses in financial sector to sink in 2008 on credit problems, decline in business, and mounting layoffs.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Looks like Wall Street bankers can kiss those fat bonuses goodbye this year.

Some bankers’ bonuses will be slashed by nearly half in 2008, and most can expect a 15% to 25% reduction from last year’s levels, according to a recent projection from compensation consultancy firm Johnson Associates.

Johnson Associates expects the big wigs to give up the most, with bonuses of senior firm managers at investment banks tumbling 35% to 45% from 2007 levels. With the public scrutinizing deep-pocketed CEOs when most Americans are penny pinching, shareholders may not stand for executives taking home millions while their companies lose billions, the consultancy firm said.

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International Herald Tribune - MARKETS, Published: July 28, 2008

( Craig Ruttle/Bloomberg News)

By Michael M. Grynbaum

An all-day stock sell-off on Monday accelerated in the afternoon, as investors leaped out of shares of investment and commercial banks, many of which have given back all of their gains from last week.

The sharp losses in financial stocks sent the Dow Jones industrial average to a 239.61 point decline, after a day spent entirely in negative territory. The blue-chip index finished at 11,131.08, down 2.1 percent. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fared little better, closing down 23.39 points, or 1.9 percent, at 1,234.37. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 46.31 points, or 2 percent, to close at 2,264.22.

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BUSINESSWEEK - Market Snapshot July 28, 2008, 4:50PM EST

Financial stocks gave up recent gains as a rise in oil prices and word of a record U.S. budget gap weighed on the market Monday

by Ben Steverman

Major U.S. stock indexes skidded Monday as a recent rebound for financial stocks faltered, oil prices rose and a report said the U.S. budget deficit could swell to a record. Traders also weighed news that private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. plans to go public.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 239.61 points, or 2.11%, to 11,131.08. The broader S&P 500 fell 23.39 points, or 1.86%, to 1,234.37. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 46.31 points, or 2%, at 2,264.22.

S&P’s diversified financial services index plunged 5.44% Monday, and the market’s worst performers included insurer AIG (AIG), down 12.3%; brokerage house Merrill Lynch (MER), off 12%; and investment bank Lehman Brothers (LEH), down 10.4%.

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