Economy

News about Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch sent European stocks sliding today. And as the European markets look at a future of negative growth, the "R" word comes up. Megan Williams has the story.

Lehman has failed, Merrill Lynch is now the property of BofA and Wall Street is abuzz over what's next. Stacey Vanek Smith asks with the head of an investment firm, just how serious is this?

With unemployment up, community colleges' enrollments are rising too. Many schools are short on funds and are having trouble handling the spike, especially in California where politicians are late in approving the state budget. Julie Small reports.

In a few days, Lehman Brothers will still be a going concern or it won't. It's a turn of events that didn't seem likely on Monday when the news was all about Fannie and Freddie. Amy Scott's been following developments this week. She talks with Kai Ryssdal.

Financial institutions aren't the only companies poking around Washington looking for help. Car makers want low-interest loan guarantees of $25 billion to retool factories to build hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars. John Dimsdale reports.

Word today that U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson opposes using any federal money to resolve the crisis at Lehman Brothers, was followed with word that the bank itself is for sale. Janet Babin reports.

With the jobless rate up over 6 percent, more people are receiving unemployment benefits and staying on unemployment. That means states are struggling more to pay the bill. Dan Grech reports.

The report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says the U.S. loses $100 billion a year in tax revenue to tax havens arranged by Wall Street banks for foreign investors. Janet Babin has more.

In the past decade, European companies have been on a borrowing spree that is now coming back to haunt them. Megan Williams reports that those companies are in worse shape than companies here.