An awful week ends with a wild day: The Dow falls 128 points — after falling nearly 700 at the open. Stocks may open sharply higher Monday on hopes for a strong plan from the Treasury to shore up major U.S. financial companies. Industrial nations push a new plan to ease the credit crisis.

The discount retailer, which earlier this decade aggressively grabbed a bigger share of the toy market, prepares for the year-end holidays by slashing prices on 10 popular toys to $10.

After watching the ratings go from AAA to crisis in the financial sector, why pay attention anymore?

The automakers are staggering, burning through thin cash reserves even as their shares tank. But no one knows when consumers will start buying new vehicles again.

To make money in a bear market — or at least limit losses — requires recognition of what’s happening first and then some ways to try to manage the crisis. Here’s what I do.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays are fundamentally sound financials despite their recent losses. Taking these positions is risky, but I could see a return of 300%.

There’s a lot of blame to go around in this mess, but share some of it with those in the financial media who didn’t sound the warning bell in time to help us.

You may think you can make up for today’s painful savings losses simply by working longer, but it’s not going to be that easy. Start by taking these 3 vital steps now.

The Dow and S&P 500 fall more than 7% as the Crash of 2008 crushes stocks in a wild last hour of trading; the Nasdaq drops 5.5%. General Motors falls nearly a third on fears it won’t survive. Citigroup abandons its Wachovia bid.