BofA invests $2B in Countrywide; stocks flat on rate-cut doubts

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stocks faltered today as trader has started to question whether the federal reserve will actually cut interest rates next month to stem the credit crunch in the end the Dow lost just a fraction of a point the Nasdaq Composite closed off more than eleven one of the nation's largest banks is bailing out the country's largest mortgage lender bank of america made a two billion dollar investment in the troubled mortgage lender countrywide financial that erased fears that the firm would go bankrupt because of the credit crunch and harry potter and the deathly hallows worked its magic on barnes and noble the bookstore chain says strong demand for the final harry potter book helped push profits up nine percent last quarter some british airways travelers may have paid too much to get across the pond britain's largest airline was fined three hundred million dollars for colluding with rivals over fuel surcharges on international flights between mid-2004 and early 2006 surcharges lifted fares from ten to one hundred twenty dollars per ticket and Macy's hopes a little star power can beef up its bottom line it's launching a 100 million dollar ad campaign this fall that will feature Jessica Simpson Martha Stewart and Donald Trump among other celebs who sell their products there the spots will poke fun at the stars like Jessica Simpson's intelligence and Donald Trump's hair that's your money watch click on cbsnews.com for more in New York I'm Alexis cristoforos

Dow jumps 145 on M&A buzz; Lehman cuts 1,200 subprime jobs

CBS News

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[Music] we'll soon find out if the Market's big rally Wednesday was just a one-day Wonder or maybe the beginning of a turnaround on Wall Street investors Shrugged off recent fears about the credit Crunch and focused instead on possible mergers and Acquisitions the Dow shot up 145 points while the NASDAQ raced ahead 31 but problems in the mortgage Market claim two more victims Leman Brothers says it will close its subprime lending unit and cut 1,200 Jobs The Firm says it will continue to make Home Loans to borrowers with better credit but that's not the case for accredited home lenders which says it will stop making home loans alog together cut its Workforce by 1,600 and close 65 branches accredited as closing its retail lending business but says it will honor loans already in the pipeline investors will be keeping an eye on oil once again crude slipped closer to $69 a barrel Wednesday on news that stock piles of oil Rose by nearly 2 million barrels this week that's much more than expected and Nissan claims it can help boost your mileage the Asian automaker plans to equip all of its cars and trucks with a fuel efficiency meter that it says will help drivers keep track of how efficiently their car is operating Nissan says the meter could cut fuel use by about 10% that's your money watch log on to cbsnews.com for more in New York I'm Alexis christopherus