PARIS (Reuters) - Nations from Europe to Australia rushed out plans on Sunday to shore up their banks, trying to halt a markets crash with pledges to back lending, buy stakes in financial institutions and take other emergency steps.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Sunday gave its stamp of approval to the takeover of Wachovia Corp by Wells Fargo & Co of San Francisco, which had battled New York-based Citigroup for ownership of the wounded bank.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Despite its best efforts to fortify its defenses, Morgan Stanley's fate hangs in the balance after the market's relentless assault last week.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top executives at American International Group Inc knew of potential problems in valuing derivatives contracts, known as credit default swaps, long before questions about the risky transactions caused its stock to plummet, the Wall Street Journal said, citing documents released by congressional investigators.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's biggest mortgage provider HBOS Plc said the takeover of the bank by Lloyds TSB remained on, rejecting a report on Sunday that the deal had collapsed.