A 6 percent fall in Asia pushed world stocks to their lowest in 5- years on Thursday, while oil fell below $53 and safe havens such as the yen gained on fears the global recession and a financial crisis will get uglier.

Japan's exports to Asia fell in October for the first time since 2002, showing that the fallout from the credit crisis has spread to neighbors such as China and adding momentum to investors' flight to the safety of cash.

U.S. car giant General Motors Corp announced a two-month shutdown at its Thai plant on Thursday, the latest move by global automakers seeking to slash costs in the face of weak sales and deepening economic gloom.

Some of the world's top banks are backing a proposal to develop a mandatory central clearing system for the $55 trillion credit default swap (CDS) market, a report in the Financial Times said on Thursday. Dealer banks are stepping up efforts to back CDS clearing to head off a more radical overhaul, which includes a proposal to move trading of over-the-counter CDS on to an exchange, the report sai

(Reuters) - The U.S. financial system still needs at least $1 trillion to $1.2 trillion of tangible common equity to restore confidence and improve liquidity in the credit markets, Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Paul Miller said.

Federal Reserve officials slashed economic growth forecasts through 2009 and some believed even deeper interest rate cuts may be needed if growth slows further, minutes of their October policy meeting show.

The government is investigating if homeowners were misled by California bank and mortgage issuer Golden West Financial, which was acquired by Wachovia Corp -- another possible victim.

Citigroup Inc faced a crisis of confidence on Wednesday as investors questioned the survival prospects of the U.S. banking giant, and its shares tumbled 23 percent to a 13-year low.

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U.S. life insurer MetLife Inc disclosed information about its commercial mortgage portfolio on Wednesday in an effort to soothe investors that have become increasingly skittish about investments by insurers in commercial property debt.

Stocks plunged to their lowest in five-and-a-half years on Wednesday as investors girded for a lengthy economic downturn and automotive executives predicted a far-reaching calamity without a government lifeline.

Shares of General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co tumbled on Wednesday as mounting political opposition cast doubt over a proposed $25 billion government bailout for the U.S. automakers.

Lloyds TSB investors overwhelmingly backed its takeover of HBOS and a government bailout plan on Wednesday, putting the banks on track to complete the deal in mid January.

Hedge fund manager William Ackman unveiled on Wednesday his latest plan to boost Target Corp's stock price by forming a trust that owns the land under its discount stores, and then spinning off 20 percent of that trust in an initial public offering.

Limited Brands , the retailer whose main chains are Victoria's Secret and Bath and Body Works, posted lower net profit on Wednesday and trimmed its full-year earnings outlook.

Boeing Co said on Wednesday it would cut about 800 jobs, or one-quarter of the staff, from its defense unit operations in Wichita, Kansas.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co , Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp tumbled to multiyear lows on Wednesday on expectations that deteriorating credit conditions and a contracting economy will weigh heavily on the three largest U.S. banks.

General Electric Co has quietly changed the way it communicates with Wall Street over the past month, using a company blog, GEReports.com, to share news with investors.

Best Buy Co shares fell more than 11 percent to a new year low on Wednesday, a day after Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating on the electronics retailer to the lowest investment grade.

Walgreen Co expects to increase its share of prescription sales even as anxious consumers rein in spending in the tough economic climate, said President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Wasson.

Consumer prices dropped at the fastest rate on record in October and new home construction was at a record low, according to government reports on Wednesday that underlined how rapidly the economy was weakening.

The shares of big U.S. homebuilders and real estate companies alike slumped on Wednesday as housing starts fell to a record low and concerns spread the commercial real estate market is going the way of residential.

Retail stores may be much less crowded this holiday season, as one research firm sees foot traffic sliding a record 9.9 percent as shoppers suffer from the weak economy and low consumer confidence.

The U.S. economy is likely to shrink for at least half a year and the Fed should act aggressively against any risks that deflation could take hold, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said on Wednesday.

Citigroup Inc said it agreed to buy $17.4 billion of assets remaining in a series of funds known as structured investment vehicles, essentially ending the funds that it has been supporting since December 2007.

U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday delayed action on adopting stricter rules to rein in the credit rating agencies until December 3.

Business and first-class air travel dropped sharply in September due to the global financial crisis, the airline industry body IATA said on Wednesday.

Reeling from a relentless sales slide, Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday it would stop all of its North American factories for two days next month, while rival Nissan Motor Co renewed its pessimism over the industry's near-term prospects.

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp CEO Steve Ballmer on Wednesday said the company is "not immune" to "current economic realities". Highlights:

Citigroup Inc , once the largest U.S. bank by market value, has fallen to fifth, dropping behind U.S. Bancorp -- which is one-eighth as large by assets.

World stocks and oil fell on Wednesday while government bonds and the yen gained as U.S. car makers begged for a bailout from Washington, adding to evidence that the credit crisis is hitting the real economy.

(Reuters) - Fox-Pitt Kelton said it expects Citigroup Inc to take net write-downs of $3 billion during the fourth quarter, and widened its loss expectation on the company for the period to reflect higher credit costs and write-downs.

Construction starts on new homes fell to a record low in October, as did new applications for building permits, a report by the Commerce Department showed on Wednesday, signaling that the national housing downturn may extend well into the future.

Consumer prices plummeted at the sharpest rate on record in October as a slowing economy caused energy costs to drop for a third straight month, according to a Labor Department report on Wednesday.

BASF , the world's largest chemicals maker by revenue, cut its profit outlook for 2008 and announced cutbacks in production, citing a "massive" decline in demand in key industries.

The head of Nomura Holdings Inc , Japan's largest brokerage, said he expects more global acquisitions and consolidation among Japanese regional banks as the financial crisis takes its toll on economies around the world.

Billionaire basketball team owner Mark Cuban responded to U.S. insider trading charges on Tuesday, saying on his website that he had not agreed to keep information about a proposed stock sale confidential.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and members of Congress clashed on Tuesday over the best use for the $700-billion financial bailout fund, with lawmakers demanding money to stem a national wave of mortgage foreclosures.

Chief executives of leading U.S. companies called for a fiscal stimulus package worth at least $300 billion and urged president-elect Barack Obama to swiftly name his economic team.

Digital video recording pioneer TiVo Inc and microchip-equipment maker KLA-Tencor Corp on Tuesday became the latest in a growing list Silicon Valley companies to shed jobs.

General Electric Co said on Tuesday it planned to cut costs by $2 billion next year at its finance arm, GE Capital, which has dragged lower the U.S. conglomerate's results as a result of the global credit crunch.

Citigroup Inc is liquidating its Corporate Special Opportunities hedge fund after it lost 53 percent of its value last month, the Financial Times reported on its website on Tuesday.

Boeing Co shares tumbled 6.5 percent to a nearly five-year low on Tuesday as analysts expressed concerns about the plane maker and defense contractor meeting profit estimates over the next two years, as it grapples with production delays, airlines' lack of financing to buy planes, and risks that the new U.S. administration will cut defense spending.

Citigroup Inc shares tumbled below $8 for the first time in 13 years on Tuesday amid concerns its plan to shed 52,000 jobs might not be enough to restore the banking giant to health or profitability soon.

Ford Motor Co , scrambling for cash as the U.S.-based automakers struggle to stay alive, has agreed to sell about two-thirds of its stake in Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor Corp for around $538 million.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said on Tuesday the U.S. economy will get worse before it improves, and forecast record losses for the U.S. credit card industry.

Pervasive recession fears and financial market upheaval hammered U.S. home builder sentiment to a record low in November, a trade group said on Tuesday, dealing a significant blow to an already flailing housing market.

The chief executive of Caterpillar Inc , the world's largest maker of earth moving equipment, says he is convinced that the long-term demand for minerals will grow.

Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said on Tuesday it is "pretty clear" the U.S. economy is in a recession, and forecast no recovery until the housing market stabilizes around the middle of 2009.

Chipmaker ON Semiconductor Corp dropped its hostile offer to acquire Atmel Corp on Tuesday, leaving bidding partner Microchip Technology Inc to look for other ways to pursue a deal with Atmel.

Spanish oil and gas group Repsol said on Tuesday that, as part of a consortium, it has won the exploration rights for oil and gas in three blocks in Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Areas.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday said the unpredictable nature of the current financial crisis meant it was necessary to ensure that financial bailout money was not diverted to other uses.

The U.S. financial system is stabilizing and the government does not plan to tap the remaining $410 billion of a financial rescue fund unless a further need arises, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Tuesday.

Global shares fell again on Tuesday, battered by growing prospects of a deep global recession and one of the biggest job cut plans in history at Citigroup.