Personal loan rates leap 4pc in credit crunch (Evening Standard)
Banks are raising interest rates on personal loans by up to 4 per cent as the credit crunch continues to hit consumers. Nine major lenders have put up charges on new loans in the past week, according to financial information group Moneyfacts.

Wall Street Firms Bested by Credit Market Woes (NPR)
The problems in the housing and credit markets are leading to more layoffs on Wall Street. Investment bank Bear Stearns says it will trim 310 jobs from its mortgage group. Merrill Lynch fired two senior executives.

Westpac acquires Rams business (Financial Times)
Australia appears to be falling back on the age-old good bank/bad bank model to restructure Rams Home Loans , one of the country's biggest casualties of the global credit crunch.

Record low in key gauge bad news for home sellers (The Fayetteville Observer)
WASHINGTON �An index that forecasts near-term home sales fell in August to a record low as would-be homebuyers had difficulty getting mortgages. Economists said the housing market's woes show no sign of improving soon.

Bagehot Had Credit-Crunch Answers 130 Years Ago: Mark Gilbert (Bloomberg.com)
Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Walter Bagehot, an economist and author writing in the 19th century, had the answers to the current credit crunch. In 1866, the U.K. money markets were in turmoil.