Wall Street Ends Best Showing Of The Week; Dow Still Shows Drop

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street has ended a wild session with its
best showing of the week after investors went in search of bargains
among stocks devastated by seven days of massive losses.
The Nasdaq composite index finished with a modest gain, while
the Dow Jones industrials lost 126 points, a relatively mild drop
after the blue chips fell 2,271 during the previous eight trading
days. Still, the Dow, which traded in a range of 1,019 points
Friday, had its worst week ever, as did the Standard & Poor's 500
index.
Investors have spent much of the past month agonizing over a
credit market that remains frozen, posing a threat to the economy.
But Friday's gainers included financial stocks, the ones most
decimated amid the ongoing banking and credit crisis.

President's working group vows market attention

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's top advisers on financial markets are pledging to continue working to correct the mistakes that have led to more than a year of severe market turmoil.

The President's Working Group on Financial Markets, which includes Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, issued a report Friday that says while many reforms have been implemented, more needs to be done.

Paulson says the group has been working to reduce the likelihood that past mistakes will be repeated.

Germany wants ambitious G-7 response to meltdown

WASHINGTON (AP) - Germany's finance minister says he will be looking for comprehensive international measures to address the global financial crisis when he meets with counterparts from the Group of Seven major industrial economies Friday.

But Peer Steinbrueck emphasized that Germany's financial problems are different from those of other countries. He said that measures taken by the United States and a recent British proposal to tackle the financial crisis might not be appropriate for Germany.

He said, "It's not for Germany to duplicate these plans." Steibrueck spoke to reporters in German.

Britain has proposed measures for its banking system including injecting capital and providing a standby facility to ensure banks have enough cash for their day-to-day operations.

Dow collapses at start of Friday trading, going below 8,000

NEW YORK (AP) - The devastating selling continues on Wall Street, with investors dumping stocks in early trading. The Dow Jones industrials, already down 2,271 points in seven sessions, are down more than 660.

U.S. trading is following huge declines overseas. Investors around the world are panicking because credit markets remain frozen and pose a threat to the global economy.

The Dow is off 663 at the 7,915 level. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down more than 7 percent, and the Nasdaq composite is down more than 5 percent.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)