LONDON (ShareCast) - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley last night abandoned their status as investment banks in a move marking the end of an era on Wall Street.

The two investment houses yesterday received the regulatory approval to transform themselves into traditional bank holding companies. While the change appears to be a technicality, it means that both banks now have equal and permanent rights to access emergency funds from the US central bank, the Federal Reserve. They will also be far more tightly regulated, reports the Times.

The US government last night urged other countries to follow its model of bailing out stricken banks after Treasury secretary Hank Paulson unveiled an unprecedented $700bn (£380bn) rescue plan to prevent a collapse of the financial system. The proposal would allow the Treasury to buy up "toxic" mortgage-related debts from financial institutions, including US arms of foreign banks, to try to stem the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, reports the Telegraph.

Attempts by the Financial Services Authority to find a buyer for Bradford & Bingley, the embattled mortgage lender, are understood to be floundering and that no deal to sell the buy-to-let specialist is imminent. The City's chief regulator is believed to have approached at least three potential bidders in recent days, including National Australia Bank (NAB), the Dutch bank that operates ING Direct in Britain, and Banco Santander, the owner of Abbey, reports the Times.

The Bank of England has predicted a "worsening outlook for economic growth globally" including the UK - and that was even before last week's global financial chaos. According to the Bank's latest Quarterly Bulletin, out today, the commercial property sector "remained particularly vulnerable", as property values continue to fall and the pace of the decline increases, reports the Telegraph.

A leading fund management group is believed to have sparked an investigation into insider dealing in HBOS shares immediately before last week's takeover plan. Standard Life Investments said yesterday that the news that the bank was being bought by rival Lloyds "came out inappropriately", reports the Telegraph.

This week the third outside competitor to the London Stock Exchange's near-monopoly in share trading in London will enter the fray. Dealing at the American-owned Nasdaq OMX will begin in a limited way on Friday, to build up over the next few weeks. Eventually the new market will offer trading in about 700 stocks across Europe, writes the Times.

The UK housing market is "on its knees", with "little chance of beginning its recovery", according to the latest monthly survey of property asking prices by the online estate agency Rightmove. Asking prices fell by 1% during the first three weeks of September, an improvement on the 2.3% drop seen in August, but still leaving prices 3.3%down on the same month last year, reports the Independent.

ITV is expected to get the green light this week to cut back its regional news operations in England, with a loss of up to 200 jobs, in a move likely to anger unions and local politicians. The broadcaster is to abandon its separate Border and West Country half-hour bulletins, replacing them with shorter programmes up to 15 minutes long, reports the Times.

Vodafone is edging closer to securing control of Vodacom, South Africa’s largest mobile phone operator. Vodafone, which owns 50% per cent of Vodacom, is hoping to increase its stake to 62.5% per cent through a deal with Telkom, South Africa’s leading fixed-line phone company. An audacious attempt to challenge Vodafone’s plans by Globacom, a leading Nigerian mobile phone operator, looks set to fail, reports the FT.

Mark Franckel, chief executive of Precision Technologies Group, told the Financial Times that 600 Group, for which his company made an approach last year, still appeared “attractive” as a potential target.

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