Fed Tries to Unclog Credit Markets With $900 Billion

The Federal Reserve will provide as much as $900 billion in cash loans to squeezed banks in an urgent effort to break through a dangerous credit clog that threatens the economy and has unhinged financial markets around the globe.

The Fed's action is aimed at spurring spooked financial institutions, which are hoarding cash, to lend not only to each other but also to individuals and businesses.

Even as the Fed pledged to take "additional measures as necessary" to battle the worst credit crisis in decades, Wall Street was in a nosedive. Fears spread around the globe about the ability of policymakers in the United States and abroad to turn around the situation