The World Bank Group’s computer network — one of the largest repositories of sensitive data about the economies of every nation — has been raided repeatedly by outsiders for more than a year, FOX News has learned.

Peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa is shutting down its operations in the US – just 10 months after launching in the country – due to tough market conditions.

Given the U.S. economic crisis, people are looking for new and better ways to get a handle on their personal finances. We recently profiled 10 money management web applications that promise to do everything from analyzing your spending behavior to saving you money by negotiating lower rates on credit cards.

The Federal Reserve, working in coordination with other central banks worldwide, enacted an emergency interest rate cut on Wednesday.

The Fed lowered its fed funds rate by a half percentage point to 1.5%. The central bank’s statement said the move was necessary because of the worsening crisis in global financial markets.

What if there were a run on a bank and no one knew?

In recent days some U.S. media have focused on a “silent run” on the deposits of Wachovia bank, which is now being taken over, after a bailout plan stalled and its rival Washington Mutual was seized.

Commentators including Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business, have highlighted the scope for quiet withdrawals by depositors whose assets exceed guaranteed levels.

But in Europe, another high-profile banking failure has drawn attention to a different 21st-century phenomenon: as homes and businesses increasingly manage their finances online, mass withdrawals may be invisible.

Not really news just a little humor for a Monday.

Citigroup announced late Saturday that it had persuaded a New York judge to temporarily block Wells Fargo from acquiring Wachovia, firing the first shot in what could be a prolonged legal battle.

In a move that trumps the previously announced Citigroup acquisition of the banking operations of Wachovia, Wells Fargo and Wachovia this morning have announced “they have signed a definitive agreement for the merger of the two companies including all of Wachovia’s banking operations in a whole company transaction requiring no financial assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.”

Some Wachovia customers are heading to credit unions for their financial needs after the bank’s deposits and other assets were sold to Citigroup Monday.

In the past two weeks, the $654.2 million asset credit union has opened 1,270 new accounts totaling 14.7 million—a 40% increase, compared with a month when a promotion was not running, Tonee Picard, Bay FCU senior vice president and chief marketing officer, told News Now.

October 1 and 2 we will be part of the distributed hosting network of the live stream of the Forum/Trabian Partnership Symposium.

Come in, drop a line, and say hi!