WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co Inc struck a deal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to buy back billions of dollars of auction-rate securities, in a settlement little different from one the bank reached a day earlier with several states.

NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks lost momentum in the past week as financial woes continued to weigh down Wall Street with investors looking ahead to a busy week of economic news.

NEW YORK - It was another seesaw week on Wall Street, but it ended with a jolt of good news: a $6-a-barrel tumble in oil. This week, investors will be watching to see if crude extends its drop or bounces back up again.

NEW YORK - Wall Street headed for a narrowly mixed open Monday as investors watched to see if oil will extend its recent losses and also awaited a reading on existing home sales.

WASHINGTON - Roll back the clock to 1961: John F. Kennedy was inaugurated president. The Peace Corps was founded. The Dow Jones industrials hit 734. Gasoline reached 31 cents a gallon.

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks hit their lowest level in almost two years on Tuesday as a worsening German business mood and fresh concerns about financial firms triggered a sell-off in risky assets, lifting the dollar to a 2008 high.

LONDON (AFP) - London shares slid on Tuesday following a Europewide trend in the wake of heavy declines in Asia and on Wall Street that were sparked by renewed fears about further fallout from the global credit crunch, analysts said.

LONDON (AFP) - London shares finished down on Tuesday, off earlier lows, amid heavy falls amongst miners.