These are dynamic economic times, to say the least. News is coming through at a frantic pace. The situation with Wachovia Bank is just one example. On Sept. 29, Citigroup announced that it had acquired Wachovia's banking operations. On Friday Oct. 3, Wells Fargo and Wachovia announced an agreement to merge. Needless to say, later that day Citigroup put out a statement declaring that Wachovia's agreement with Wells Fargo was in breach of an exclusivity agreement made on Sept. 29. The issue is now in the courts and most likely, by the time you read this, any resolution will be old news. One of the striking things about this situation was that it took a back seat to other economic news. The big news in the U.S. was the $700 billion bailout approved by Congress on Oct. 3. In many countries, this bailout was a secondary item to their own financial crises. Countries around the world-from Russia to Iceland-are pledging huge sums of money to shore up ailing financial systems.
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