Bad News

China may cut its dollar holdings - CICC: China, which holds a fifth of its currency reserves in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt, may cut the portion held in US dollars, according to China International Capital Corp (CICC), one of the nation's biggest investment banks।

US economy: Retail sales slump as consumers tighten their belts: Analysts had expected sales to rise by 0।3% last month but data from the Commerce Department today showed a fall of 0.3%. This is the second month in a row that sales have declined, and the figure for July was also sharply revised, to a drop of 0.5%. It had previously been reported as a 0.1% fall.

Warning: 30 airlines will go bust this year: Up to 30 more airlines will go bankrupt before Christmas, the chief executive of British Airways warned yesterday, as the biggest rescue of stranded passengers in travel industry history began.

U.S. Foreclosures Hit Record in August as Housing Prices Fell: Owners of 303,879 properties, or one in 416 U.S. households, got a default notice, were warned of a pending auction or foreclosed on last month. That was the most since reporting began in January 2005.