New US bank stress tests

The tests will check to see how banks will hold up under the possibility the European debt crisis gets worse. The banks under review are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. The results will be released next year.The benchmark S&P 500 index fell for the fifth day in row as European debt worries continued to dent investor sentiment.This time there were concerns about Spain as the country had to dig deep as borrowing costs for new debt hit a record high. Not even minutes from the Federal Reserves last meeting, showing some policy makers were ready to spring to action and offer more support for the US economy, was enough to soothe concerns.A downgrade of US economic growth did not help either. The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the third quarter, slower than the 2-1/2 percent rate previously announced by the Commerce Department, thanks to slower business activity.