SURPRISE MOVE: While the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered a bruising during the week, it gained traction on Friday after the Fed slashed its discount lending rate
Credit fears have played havoc with Wall Street stock portfolios and US investors could suffer more bruises from fresh upheavals sweeping world markets in the week ahead, despite an emergency rate cut.

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SLIDING: Markets in Asia plunged as investors remained extremely nervous about US credit markets, with heavy selling dragging major markets down more than 5 percent
Asian stocks tumbled for the fourth week, posting their biggest drop in 17 years as a deepening US housing slump and spreading credit crunch cooled investor demand for equities. BHP Billiton Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp fell.

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Asian currencies tumbled this week, wiping out this year's gains in the Singapore dollar and South Korean won, as losses linked to the subprime market sparked the worst five-day decline in the region's stocks since 1990.

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The euro climbed against the US dollar and the yen on Friday after the US Federal Reserve cut its discount rate to ease liquidity in the banking system and widening fears of a credit crunch.

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Oil prices rebounded on Friday on news of US Federal Reserve action to ease a credit crunch and a major hurricane plowing toward the Gulf of Mexico, home to critical energy installations.

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European investors will hope for more positive news on the distressed US property market in the week ahead as they seek to build on Friday's partial stock market recovery.

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TOXIC: Beter Bed Holding said it was destroying a shipment of 728 foam mattresses from China after tests showed they contained toxic insecticide
A chain of Dutch bed stores said on Friday it was recalling more than 1,300 Chinese-made foam mattresses amid fears they were sprayed with toxic insecticide.

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FAIR COMPETITION: General Motors' Richard Wagoner placed the yen's value at 90 to 100 to the greenback, saying this would dramatically level the competitive field
Facing some intense competition for its long-held spot as the world's top automaker to Japan's Toyota, General Motors' (GM) top executive reiterated late on Friday the yen is still undervalued on world's currency markets.

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IN THE RED: The Kansas City-based mortgage lender had earlier reported a second-quarter loss of US$54.5 million as loan production plummeted 73 percent
US mortgage lender NovaStar Financial Inc said on Friday it was cutting 500 jobs, or 37 percent of its work force, as it stops selling home loans through brokers.

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The design specifications for the new dream home of Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani feature everything a billionaire might desire.

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American Airlines (AA) is suing Google Inc over the Internet firm's sale of keyword ads for rivals trig-gered by its own trademarks.

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Sentinel Management Group Inc, a cash-management firm which froze client withdrawals three days ago, filed for bankruptcy after a judge sought to block it from selling assets to hedge fund company Citadel Investment Group LLC.

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