WASHINGTON -- More banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages and other consumer and business loans as a deepening credit crisis exerts a heavier toll on the economy.

Widening Russian action in Georgia affecting global oil supplies

WASHINGTON -- Oil traders on Monday shrugged off Russia's widening invasion of neighboring Georgia, but if the conflict spreads further it could threaten nearly 1 million barrels per day of needed global crude supplies from the Caspian Sea, most of it bound for Europe.

Keri Rainsberger isn't rich. She works in the nonprofit world for a relatively low-profit salary. Yet, as many Americans are scrimping for every penny, she hardly feels the pinch.

When gas prices rose to more than $4 per gallon, it marked the tipping point for a lot of people. Reality set in, and consumers of all income levels have really started cutting back. We're packing our lunches, carpooling to work and taking vacations closer to home. And when we do need to spend -- when the refrigerator is on the fritz and needs to be replaced, or the kids desperately need back-to-school clothes -- we're looking for deals.