Your update of the most important business news from dozens of respected news sources, selected by the editors of BusinessWeek.

Early Edition September 19 2008 at 04:47 AM Chi-Chu Tschang and Harry Maurer

U.S. Proposes Sweeping Plan to Counter Crisis

Washington is putting together a comprehensive series of programs that likely will add up to the most extensive market intervention since the 1930s. Central is a plan to relieve financial companies of their bad assets, an effort that could involve hundreds of billions of dollars. Also being considered: a federal insurance for investors in money-market mutual funds and the likely

The Securities and Exchange Commission is also planning a temporary ban on short-selling that will likely apply to financial companies. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke met with U.S. president George Bush on Thursday to discuss the plan. In a news conference afterwards, Paulson described the effort as "an approach to deal with system risk and the stresses in our capital markets."

Source: Wall Street Journal

Stocks Soar on Regulatory Hopes

Major U.S. stock indexes lurched in and out of negative territory Thursday in a volatile session before shooting higher in the final hour of trading on the latest hope of a government solution to the current financial crisis.

Source: BusinessWeek.com

Morgan Stanley Considers Options

Faced with plunging share values, Morgan Stanley is considering several options including combining with Wachovia and taking in more investment by China's sovereign wealth fund. China Investment Corp. already took a $5 billion stake in the firm in December.

Source: Washington Post

McCain No Change Agent

A poll by the New York Times and CBS News shows that most Americans see Senator John McCain as a "typical Republican" and far less likely to bring change to Washington than his presidential contender Senator Barack Obama. The poll showed that 46% of voters think McCain would continue George Bush's policies, with 22% saying he would be more conservative than the present president.

Source: New York Times

Beijing Moves to Lift Markets

Following a 70% drop in China's stock markets over the last year, Beijing announced Thursday that it was scrapping the stamp tax on stock buys and would spend government money to lift Chinese bank shares. China's sovereign wealth fund will buy stakes in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank.

Source: Financial Times

Russia's President Calls for Billions in Spending to Support Financial System

As Russia's hard-hit stock exchanges remained closed, Russia's president called on his government to spend billions of dollars to help support his country's markets. "This is our top priority," Russia's president Medvedev said on national television.

Source: Times Online

Southern California Foreclosures Drive Property Sales

Almost one-half of homes sold in Southern California in August had been repossessed, real estate tracking service MDA DataQuick reports. That helped drive prices down by 34% compared to the previous year to an average of $333,000.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Lehman Looks to Sumitomo Mitsui for Asset Sales

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is in talks with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. about selling assets in an effort to save its Japan operation, sources have informed Bloomberg. Sumitomo Mitsui may also consider buying Lehman's assets elsewhere in Asia

Source: Bloomberg

SEC's Cox Catches Blame for Financial Crisis

Criticism of the Securities & Exchange Commission and its chairman, Christopher Cox, rose sharply on Sept. 18 as Republican Presidential candidate John McCain suggested he should be fired. "Mismanagement and greed became the operating standard while regulators were asleep at the switch," McCain said at a campaign appearance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the President and has betrayed the public's trust. If I were President today, I would fire him."

Source: BusinessWeek

Conversation of the Day: DAWN OF THE REREGULATION ERA?

Reader QuestionAuthority writes: "The current mess only proves that unregulated capitalism leads to abuse of the system. The question is if those in power will allow reregulation to happen."

Read the Story and Tell Us What You Think

Hot Topic on the Business Exchange: Lehman Bros

As the credit crunch hits the U. S. economy, Lehman Brothers is fighting to survive as an independent entity. Shirley Brady and others are sharing their insights.

Join the Exchange