U.S. STOCKS: Ended the session a little off their worst levels with the Dow off by 250 points while the Nasdaq was down by 159 points. For the week the Nasdaq was off about 66 points while the Dow slid about 110 points. Bank stocks led the Dow slide as investors fretted over the impact of the California utilities problems on lenders and bondholders. BankAmerica dropped about $4 to $47 1/2 after experiencing a delayed opening on unsubstantiated rumors of substantial losses due to derivatives or other problems. The bank subsequently denied the talk. Elsewhere, Citibank lost $2 while JP Morgan Chase was down $3. S&P 500 ended off by almost 35 points.