Delta Air Lines said it plans to cut overall flight capacity by 6% to 8% next year due to "the global economic recession and weaker demand for air travel." As result, passengers can expect flights to be crowded and fare deals to be scarce.

Toy maker Mattel Inc. said Thursday it is cutting about 1,000 positions worldwide in response to the economic downturn.

U.S. Secretary Henry Paulson plans to use the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue program to help relieve pressures on consumer credit, scrapping an effort to buy devalued mortgage assets.

The U.S. government on Sunday announced a massive rescue package for Citigroup - the latest move to steady the banking giant, whose shares plunged in the past week on fears about the bank’s health.

A turnaround in financials – especially insurance companies after Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. hiked its earnings forecast for the year – helped New York and Toronto markets stage a late-day recovery to close higher.

British interest rates will probably fall further, the Bank of England signaled on Wednesday, with the economy already sliding into recession and unemployment recording its biggest jump since 1992.

Swiss bank Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it was cutting 11 percent of its workforce, or 5,300 jobs, as it revealed it made a net loss of about 3 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) in October and November.

Executives at BCE Inc. are continuing discussions with an accounting firm that refused to sign off on the phone company’s debt-heavy $52 billion buyout, but observers aren’t holding out much hope the deal can be resurrected.