-The week's biggest failures are unquestionably Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the troubled mortgage companies whose shares plummeted for a second day in a row today. Both stocks closed at their lowest levels in more than 16 years. While the media's been abuzz about a potential government takeover, the latest word is that the Treasury Department intends to support the companies as they currently are. What that means as yet is anyone's guess. This story is far from over.

-UAL, United Airlines' corporate parents, took a beating on wall Street today, with its stock falling 15%. This new 52-week low came after UAL announced their plans to take second-quarter non-cash charges of up to $2.7 billion. If that doesn't mean anything to you, this might: as of today, the UAL has an equity value of $433 million, which is less than the retail price of two jumbo jets, reports the Wall Street Journal. UAL says that its troubles are the result of—you guessed it—rising fuel costs. Raise your hand if you're surprised.

-Investment bank Lehman Brothers also took another hit today with its shares falling 12%. The New York Times speculates that the drop came amidst investors fears over Freddie and Fannie (see above), as well as the regulators' statements that they would not bail out all financial institutions a la Bear Stearns. Lehman stock has lost more than 70% of its value this year, primarily due to its involvement in the mortgage crisis.

-As we've reported ad nauseum, discount clothier Steve & Barry's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week. No word yet on how Sarah Jessica Parker—whose "Bitten" line is sold at the chain—is handling the news. But with her Sex&The City movie in theaters now, we're going with "doesn't care."

-Big chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices announced today that they're taking nearly a $1 billion dollar loss in the first quarter. The company, who competes with Intel, also says that it's taking a $32 million hit as a result of laying off employees (translation: pay out for severance packages).