Hong Kong: Asian stocks dropped for the first week in four amid concern global economic prospects have weakened and financial market losses will continue.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government this year has placed on its books the liabilities of a major investment bank in March, two mortgage-finance giants earlier this month, and this week the nation's largest insurer.

The euphoria engendered by the week-end bail-out of mortgage finance companies has dissipated, allowing energy and mining stocks to push the market indices lower.

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian stocks fell as Manulife Financial Corp. 's lower-than-estimated earnings dragged down banks and insurers, overshadowing an advance in oil prices that helped lift energy shares.

The managers of the Montezuma Money Management fund met recently to talk about stocks. “Here's a Chinese mobile phone company,” one manager said. “They have 350 million subscribers. That's bigger than the entire population of the United States.”