Dozens of U.S. retailers are being closely watched by bankruptcy and restructuring professionals as the crucial holiday sales season approaches.

With Congress rejecting a Wall Street bailout, markets are turning towards central banks hoping they will stop the decline.

Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, met forecasts with a 10 percent rise in first-half profit, signalling it can cope with weak markets even as it urged interest rate cuts and steps to steady banks.

Ireland on Tuesday pledged more than double its GDP to guarantee all bank deposits in a dramatic move to improve bank access to international funds frozen by the global credit crunch.

U.S. chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride said on Monday it received a temporary waiver on a credit covenant and retained advisers to review its operations and refinancing strategy, but investors remained uneasy and sent its shares down 13 percent.

Hard-pressed U.S. consumers kept their spending completely in check during August despite an unexpected bounce upward in incomes, according to a government report on Monday that implied worry about the economy's direction was deepening.

U.S. consumer confidence rose to a seven-month high in September but not as much as previously thought as worries over the growing financial crisis clouded the outlook, a survey showed on Friday.

The U.S. economy grew less strongly than previously thought during the second quarter as consumers boosted spending less vigorously and businesses trimmed some investments, a sign confidence was sagging even before financial market turmoil deepened.

Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been falling for five weeks, jumped sharply this week, reflecting the turbulence in global credit markets.

The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped 32,000 last week,while new orders for durable goods dropped by a sharper-than-expected 4.5 percent in August.

Not surprisingly, Americans are still down on the economy, according to the latest CNBC survey, with 93 percent of respondents describing it as poor or fair. But, in light of the Wall Street problems on the front page, there are signs that sentiment has bottomed. Nowhere is that more apparent than the huge jump in expectations that the economy will get on track in the next year.

Home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday posted lower quarterly earnings that matched Wall Street estimates and shares rose nearly 2 percent in extended trade.

Nike, the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel company, posted a 10 percent fall in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, due to a year-ago tax benefit, but earnings beat Wall Street estimates.

The Treasury’s bailout plan for Wall Street will also benefit Main Street, Bill Gross, founder and chief investment officer of investment management firm Pimco, told CNBC Wednesday.