KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The world readied on Monday for a slew of bank bailouts worth hundreds of billions of dollars in an effort to staunch the credit rout that threatens to tip the global economy into recession.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Sunday gave its stamp of approval to the takeover of Wachovia Corp by Wells Fargo & Co of San Francisco, which had battled New York-based Citigroup for ownership of the wounded bank.

SCOTTISH companies are shedding jobs at the fastest rate in more than a decade, casting an even greater shadow over the economy north of the Border.

STEPHEN Hester, head of property giant British Land, is set to emerge as the new chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland in a regime change forced by the dramatic collapse

MOVES to create a "super- mutual" from the merger of the Co-op's financial services arm and the Britannia building society were revealed yesterday.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday after policymakers around the world took increasingly bold steps to rescue the financial system, including guaranteeing bank deposits and taking stakes in banks.

Us banking regulators need a "dramatic overhaul", according to Harvey Pitt who used to run one of them.

There are many stocks that are dirt cheap by just about any measure. For value investors, it is like being a kid in a candy shop. Our picks are: BP, FTE, CBS and PFE.

US Federal Reserve approves a $12bn takeover of troubled bank Wachovia and it subsidiaries by Wells Fargo.

Today Sizzling Platter - General Manager's Conference Snowbird Planned attendance: 135 Runs through: Wednesday The Restored Church of God