Crunch Reminds Investors That Slowdowns Carry a Price

The realization that Sunbeam (SOC Quote), a company once loved on Wall Street and now trading for pennies, might find it difficult to pay off something like $2.4 billion in debt has set off a flurry of worrying among investors.

Bank Stocks to Avoid as Credit Worries Mount

Junk-Bond Funds Face Growing Risk of Telecom and Tech Defaults

Credit Quality Issues Rear Their Ugly Heads Again

The stocks of two banks that participated in a $1.7 billion syndicate loan to Sunbeam in March 1998, First Union (FTU Quote) and Bank of America (BAC Quote), have fallen under heavy pressure over the past two trading sessions. And inevitably, the market is jittery over the possibility that other banks will see big debts go sour. Particularly hard hit today were regional banks -- outfits like Bank One (ONE Quote), Wachovia (WB Quote) and KeyCorp (KEY Quote) -- which lack the diversity of their larger cousins. ...