Citigroup Inc. (C) today (Monday) unveiled plans to cut more than 50,000 jobs in the “near term” and slash expenses by 20% to preserve capital as it faces a global slowdown that’s expected to push well into 2009.

The recent slump in gold prices has puzzled many investors who considered the yellow metal a safe haven. But Mike Caggeso says the inflationary impact of the government’s $700 billion bailout program could send gold soaring towards $1,500 an ounce by the end of 2009. He recommends five ways to play this coming gold bull run.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King said Wednesday that dangerous deflation is opening a door for further interest cut rates.

American Express Co. (AXP) today (Tuesday) won approval from the U.S. Federal Reserve to become a commercial bank, giving the credit card titan a crucial lifeline as the risk of defaults runs higher in the slowing global market.

Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a week after the struggling electronics retailer announced it would close 155 of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its workforce by 17%.

It’s got to be frustrating for Jerry Yang. The 40-year-old co-founder and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) is sitting on top of the world’s most popular web site, yet he can’t compete with Google Inc.’s (GOOG) more effective search-engine advertising machine.

Australia’s central bank took the hatchet to its benchmark interest rate Tuesday, cutting 75 basis points to 5.25%, the lowest since March 2005. Since the start of September, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates three times for a total of 200 basis points, in an attempt to insulate the economy from the global financial crisis. 

Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) will close 155, or 20%, of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its domestic workforce by about 17% as the fledging electronics retailer scrambles to conserve cash and reverse six consecutive quarters of falling sales.

Commodity prices are bracing for their worst month in 52 years as global demand continues to slide. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index - a measure of 19 global commodities from light crude to lean hogs - fell 24% in October, Bloomberg reports.

Embattled carmaker General Motors Corp. (GM) is planning thousands of additional white-collar job cuts and mulling over the sale off some of its brands, sources told the Wall Street Journal.