US banks make shock status switch

The last two major investment banks in the US have changed their status to become bank holding companies, allowing them to take deposits from investors.

The changes should enable Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to raise more funds by opening commercial banks.
The move - part of a huge restructuring effort on Wall Street - will also give them access to Federal Reserve support.
The US government has announced a $700bn (£382bn) package to tackle the worst financial crisis for decades.
Congress is considering the plan, drawn up by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, which would set up a fund to buy back much of the bad debt held by financial institutions.
Mr Paulson has urged other countries to follow the American example in dealing with the international financial crisis.
Bank vulnerability
Both presidential candidates have been having their say about the financial crisis.
Republican John McCain had stinging words for President George W Bush, saying he should take the blame for the crisis along with both parties in Congress.
Mr McCain said he was enraged by the greed of Wall Street speculators and said the rescue plan should be funded by cutting government waste, rather that through taxation
Meanwhile Barack Obama, for the Democrats, suggested Mr Paulson could be asked to play a role in his administration should he win the presidency.
But Mr Obama criticised the bail-out proposal, calling for independent supervision of its implementation.
Investment banks have proved particularly vulnerable to the economic malaise - with Lehman Brothers going bankrupt this week and Merrill Lynch being sold to the Bank of America.
Shares in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley came under severe pressure amid the struggles of their fellow investment banks.
Analysts speculated that both institutions would be acquired by commercial banks, whose ability to take deposits would give them a stable source of funding.
Instead, the banks filed requests with the Federal Reserve to change their status.
And late on Sunday, the Fed said in a statement it had granted the requests.