UNITED STATES

A crisis in credit markets triggered by a collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market has shuttered several mortgage real estate investment trusts and threatened the sector, rekindling memories of a similar crisis 30 years ago.

Sprint Nextel Corp. said on Thursday it could spend as much as $5 billion by the end of 2010 on a new network based on the emerging high-speed wireless technology known as WiMax.

The yen had its biggest rise against the dollar in six months in volatile trading on Thursday as investors fearing a global credit crisis exited risky trades financed by borrowing the Japanese currency.

Bear Stearns Cos Inc said on Thursday it will cut about 240 subprime lending jobs as a global credit squeeze and a subprime lending crisis rattles markets.

First Magnus Financial Corp., one of the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, said on Thursday it has stopped funding home loans and taking mortgage loan applications because investors are not buying its loans.

Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of home loan funding, increased its holdings of risky subprime loans in 2006 while its profits fell that year, the company said on Thursday in a long-delayed report.

The U.S. mortgage meltdown has crushed dozens of lenders and is causing severe liquidity problems at the largest, Countrywide Financial Corp.

Shares of Apple Inc. tumbled as much as 7 percent on Thursday as investors targeted the high-flying stock in a general U.S. market slide prompted by credit fears.

Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Thursday it drew down an entire $11.5 billion bank credit line as a global credit crisis limits its access to short-term cash.

Key precious metals tumbled in late business on Thursday as bullion investors sold their holdings following declines in stock markets and increased worries about credit market troubles.

Fears that tighter credit in the U.S. subprime housing sector will choke off growth in other sectors sent stock markets around the world sharply lower on Thursday while government bonds rallied in a flight to safety.

Prices of metals, energy and grains tumbled on Thursday as commodities were caught up in a global rush out of risky investments for the safety of cash.

With stock markets falling, the housing market in a tailspin and credit tightening, corporate America is bracing for the impact.

Factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region stagnated in August, with a measure of growth falling to its weakest level this year, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Dow industrials closed lower for a sixth day on Thursday on fears that credit markets may break down and hurt the economy and profits, but a remarkable late-day surge almost brought them back into the black.

Companies worried about a U.S. economic slowdown should think twice before cutting their marketing budgets, particularly when it comes to money earmarked for more unconventional types of advertising.

U.S. restaurants are most likely to feature California wines that sell for less than $39 a bottle, according to a new report.

China may be a trade giant but ineffective controls have kept it a quality weakling and are sapping competitiveness, the nation's safety watchdog said, as fears grow in the United States about the made-in-China label.

Relations between the United States and Europe are likely to improve dramatically under new French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a U.S. congressional leader said on Thursday.

China will send delegations to the United States in August and September to discuss food and product safety following a spate of product recalls, a Chinese Embassy official said on Wednesday.

Beijing objects to an attempt by the United States to use the World Trade Organization to impose new obligations on China to crack down on pirated goods, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.