Stock prices got slammed for the third time in three sessions. The Dow fell 411 to 8,282. The S&P fell 46 points and the Nasdaq composite dropped 81 points.

• Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the government will not use the $700 billion rescue package to purchase troubled assets, as the program was originally pitched. Along with taking stakes in banks, Paulson announced that the administration is looking at a major expansion of the program into the markets that provide support for credit-card debt, auto loans and student loans.
  
• Sears Holdings Corp. is bringing back layaway to its namesake stores next week. The move comes nearly two decades after it was scrapped. It has seen a strong response to the pay-as-you-go plan at its Kmart locations.
  
• A federal task force has approved only voluntary guidelines for airlines and airports dealing with passengers stranded for hours on the tarmac, producing no fixed limit on how long they can be delayed before being allowed to leave planes. Passengers who had hoped for stronger protections were left
  empty-handed by the guidelines.
  
• Oil futures fell to the lowest close since January of last year. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell $3.50 to settle $56.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.