U.S. Stocks Tumble a Third Week on Lending Crisis; Bear Stearns Declines

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, pushing the Standard
& Poor's 500 Index to its steepest three-week skid since 2003, on
deepening concern that mortgage losses will hurt bank earnings
and reduce the pace of takeovers.

Bear Stearns Cos., the manager of two hedge funds that
collapsed last month because of rising defaults in home loans,
tumbled the most since September 2001. Shares of the largest U.S.
mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., had the biggest
loss in almost three years.


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