U.S.

Stocks Fall for Third Week, Longest Drop Since March, on Recession Concern U.S. stocks fell for a third straight week, the longest losing streak since March, on concern deeper- than-estimated job cuts and a drop in consumer confidence will prolong the recession.

India Joins Russia, China in Questioning Dominance of U.S. Dollar Reserves Suresh Tendulkar, an economic adviser to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said he is urging the government to diversify its $264.6 billion foreign-exchange reserves and hold fewer dollars.

Dollar Gains as Signs Economic Recovery Faltering Spark Demand for Safety The dollar rose against the euro this week as speculation the economic recovery is faltering boosted demand for the safety of the U.S. currency.

Stanford's Antigua Liquidators Win Control of $196 Million in U.K. Assets R. Allen Stanford’s liquidators from Antigua were awarded control of 120 million pounds ($196 million) in U.K. assets seized in a fraud probe in a London court battle with U.S. receivers.

Private-Equity Firms Say FDIC Rules Will Thwart Takeovers of Failed Banks Private-equity firms said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. may be diminishing the appetite for future bank takeovers by demanding buyout groups put more capital at risk.

GM Bankruptcy Judge Ends Hearing, Will Weigh U.S.-Backed Sale of Automaker General Motors Corp.’s battle with creditors over its reorganization neared an end yesterday, leaving it up to a bankruptcy judge to decide the fate of a plan to create a streamlined carmaker by selling its best assets to a group led by the U.S. Treasury.

Latin America

Colombia's Central Bank Signals Rates May Not Drop Further at Next Meeting Colombia’s central bank policy makers signaled they may pause after their half-point reduction at their June 19 meeting, where they also considered a smaller rate cut or even keeping the rate unchanged.

Emerging-Markets Share of World Stocks Hits Record; China Tops $3 Trillion Developing countries’ share of worldwide equity value climbed to a record as the fastest- growing economies lured investors amid the first global recession since World War II.

Repsol in Talks With China's CNPC, Cnooc to Sell Stake in Argentinean Unit Repsol YPF SA is in talks with China National Petroleum Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp. about a sale of a stake in its Argentinean unit, three people familiar with the discussions said.

Brazilian Stocks Fall, Capping Weekly Drop; Petrobras, Usiminas Decline Brazilian stocks fell, capping a weekly decline, as a drop in oil and metal prices sent Petroleo Brasileiro SA and Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA lower.

Venezuela, China May Sign New $4 Billion Loan-for-Oil Accord, Chavez Says Venezuela and China Development Bank Corp. are discussing a third $4 billion infrastructure loan to be paid in oil, President Hugo Chavez said.

Brazil's Real Advances Against Dollar on Signs of Faster Economic Recovery Brazil’s real rose, paring losses for the week, on speculation the economy is recovering after reports this week that industrial production expanded for a fifth month and exports grew more than expected.

Exclusive

Treasury Debt-Purchase Plan May Be Smaller Than Anticipated at $20 Billion The U.S. Treasury Department may begin its program to spur purchases of mortgage-backed securities from banks with about $20 billion in public and private money, down from as much as $100 billion when it was announced in March, two people familiar with the matter said.

ThyssenKrupp Said to Abandon Sale of Unit After Potential Buyers Pull Out ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s largest steelmaker, scrapped the sale of an industrial services unit as part of a 1 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) disposal of assets after buyers pulled out, people familiar with the situation said.

Wiedeking Era at Porsche Runs on Fumes as Volkswagen Takeover Backfires Wendelin Wiedeking, hailed as “the man who outfoxed the market” by Fortune magazine in January, is fighting to save Porsche SE -- and his job -- as a strategy to take over Volkswagen AG unravels.

Australia Facing `Full Brunt' of Global Recession as Exports, Lending Drop Australia’s economy, which has so far skirted the global recession, may stall after reports showed exports dropped to a 14-month low, bank lending fell and home- building approvals declined by the most since 2002.

Escada Is Optimistic of Rescue as Dressmaker Suffers, CEO Saelzer Says Escada AG Chief Executive Officer Bruno Saelzer said he’s optimistic investors will back a refinancing plan and avert insolvency at the German dressmaker whose celebrity clients include actress Katie Holmes.

Halabi Companies Fail to Fix $1.9 Billion Commercial Mortgage Bond Default Investor Simon Halabi’s real-estate companies failed to remedy a default on 1.15 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) of commercial mortgage bonds at a time when, according to Fitch Ratings, “pretty much” all such European deals would breach loan-to-value conditions if they were tested.