Markets worldwide tumbled, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped below 10,000 for the first time since 2004, as the world tried to determine if the Wall Street bailout passed last Friday will work ... or not.

The Labor Department's latest report on unemployment data, released Friday, showed that while the nation's unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.1%, employers reported laying off 159,000 people in September --- the highest number in 5 years.

Paul Krugman joined Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! on Friday morning. Naturally much of the broadcast centered around the ongoing financial crisis. For those who don't know, Krugman is professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University and a columnist at the New York Times.

On Monday, President Bush urged Congress to move quickly and to resist the temptation to add provisions to the $700 billion bailout bill he has requested saying that such additions "would undermine the effectiveness of the plan.”

On Monday SanDisk announced a new physical music format, called slotMusic, in concert with the four major music labels: EMI Music, SONY BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. The new format is essentially an entire album on a MicroSD compact memory card and, according to the format's official site, retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy are already lined up to stock the cards for the coming holiday season.

Europe will reach the U.S. levels of per capita income unless we strangle our economy with more regulation and taxes.

Companies are willing to pay higher wages in order to ensure that workers remain committed and contribute their best efforts to maximize productivity levels, according to a study in the International Journal of Economic Theory published by Wiley-Blackwell. An increase in unemployment insurance, while implying higher wages, is nevertheless beneficial to long term economic activity.

Mortgage rates were just about the only report this week that were not disappointing to the US economy.

A national survey has found many Australian companies are putting their hiring on hold because of growing uncertainty about the economy.

Concerned about their country’s unprecedented high growth performance, the Chinese Government has declared reducing economic overheating and curbing inflation as its top priorities for 2008.

Multinational firms are increasingly locating their innovation activities in China and India. But what are the challenges and opportunities of managing research and development centres in these countries? More importantly, how will these trends impact on the long term competitiveness of the economies of Western European countries and North America?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says California's financial problems call for fiscal discipline and cross-party cooperation. Mike O'Sullivan reports, the governor says the state's economy is sound, in spite of its problems.