Shares of National City Corp climbed sharply Thursday, after the Wall Street Journal reported that the large Midwest U.S. regional bank was in talks about a possible sale.

The number of large loans tagged by federal bank examiners as potentially weak and vulnerable to default nearly tripled last year, according to a review released Wednesday by regulators.

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to buy back up to $4.7 billion in auction-rate securities to settle charges it misled thousands of customers about the risky investments, federal and state regulators said Wednesday.

The Bank of New York Mellon said Wednesday it agreed to buy JPMorgan Trust Bank Ltd. in Japan in connection with its takeover of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s global corporate trust business in 2006.

Shares of financial services firms mostly rose in premarket trading Wednesday after the Federal Reserve Board cut a key interest rate to 1.5 percent from 2 percent in an effort to help spur a sputtering economy.

By James B. Kelleher

By James B. Kelleher

Dusting off Depression-era emergency powers, the Federal Reserve is extending its reach over the economy as never before, pushing the limits of its authority, if not exceeding them.

Bank shares tumbled Tuesday on fears that worse-than-expected third-quarter results by industry bellwether Bank of America Corp. may indicate how others in the sector will fare when they report earnings in coming weeks.

Dusting off Depression-era emergency powers, the Federal Reserve is extending its reach over the economy as never before, pushing the limits of its authority, if not exceeding them.

The former chief lawyer for UBS's investment bank has agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle an allegation that he dumped his investments in auction-rate securities after getting a company e-mail warning that the market was in trouble, state officials said Tuesday.

As the stock market swoons, investors are watching their paper losses mount and their retirement accounts dwindle. As the most trusted names in banking and brokerage have fallen like dominoes — despite reassurances from top executives that nothing was wrong — what message or slogan could possibly reassure a jittery public? The New York Times has the story.

The government's new plan for rebuilding the deposit insurance fund at a time of banking turmoil would more than double the industry's average premiums next year. It also could bring higher costs for bank customers.

The FDIC is considering a plan to increase the fees paid by U.S. banks and thrifts to replenish the deposit insurance fund.

By Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jennifer Ablan