Deadly Sushi
07-16-2008, 12:55 AM
We are in sad, sad times folks. :sad:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/business/worldbusiness/16markets.html?_r=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
Stocks ended a volatile session in the red on Tuesday, despite a sharp drop in oil prices, after economic policy makers issued dour predictions and skepticism arose about the government’s efforts to shore up the nation’s financial sector.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended below 11,000 for the first time in two years, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index declined 1.1 percent.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered mortgage finance giants, fell for the fifth day in a row, despite attempts by President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. to reassure investors about the government’s rescue plan for the companies. Freddie Mac shares lost 26 percent, and Fannie Mae ended down 27 percent.
Battered bank stocks also closed mostly in the red, although Lehman Brothers managed a 7 percent gain.
In a dizzying day, investors grappled with a spate of mostly bleak economic developments, including pessimistic testimony from Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, who warned that significant economic risks remained and that inflation would accelerate.
The dollar fell to a new low against the euro, General Motors said it would cut jobs and suspend its dividend and a report showed that consumer spending slowed in June more than economists had expected.
Stocks fell sharply in morning trading; the Dow was down 200 points after the opening bell.
But shortly after 10 a.m., as Mr. Bernanke was speaking to Congress, investors did a double-take as oil prices, previously trading at record highs, suddenly plunged by $10 a barrel.
“The only times you’ve seen moves like that are in the first gulf war,” Ric Navy, an analyst at BNP Paribas, said.
The surprise development led to a midmorning rally in the stock market, which surged back toward positive territory.
Oil closed down $6.44, at $138.74 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, leaving analysts puzzled.
But the market revival did not last. After seesawing between positive and negative territory, the Dow slid in the late afternoon, closing down 92.65 points at 10,962.54. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index followed a similar trajectory, ending down 13.39 points, or 1.1 percent, at 1,214.91. The Nasdaq composite index closed up 0.1 percent, at 2,215.71.
Mr. Bernanke’s gloomy assessment was reinforced by two government reports released Tuesday, one showing that retail sales were nearly stagnant in June, even after Americans received tax rebates from the government’s stimulus plan, and the other showing that producer prices rose more than expected, a sign of accelerating inflation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/business/worldbusiness/16markets.html?_r=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
Stocks ended a volatile session in the red on Tuesday, despite a sharp drop in oil prices, after economic policy makers issued dour predictions and skepticism arose about the government’s efforts to shore up the nation’s financial sector.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended below 11,000 for the first time in two years, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index declined 1.1 percent.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered mortgage finance giants, fell for the fifth day in a row, despite attempts by President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. to reassure investors about the government’s rescue plan for the companies. Freddie Mac shares lost 26 percent, and Fannie Mae ended down 27 percent.
Battered bank stocks also closed mostly in the red, although Lehman Brothers managed a 7 percent gain.
In a dizzying day, investors grappled with a spate of mostly bleak economic developments, including pessimistic testimony from Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, who warned that significant economic risks remained and that inflation would accelerate.
The dollar fell to a new low against the euro, General Motors said it would cut jobs and suspend its dividend and a report showed that consumer spending slowed in June more than economists had expected.
Stocks fell sharply in morning trading; the Dow was down 200 points after the opening bell.
But shortly after 10 a.m., as Mr. Bernanke was speaking to Congress, investors did a double-take as oil prices, previously trading at record highs, suddenly plunged by $10 a barrel.
“The only times you’ve seen moves like that are in the first gulf war,” Ric Navy, an analyst at BNP Paribas, said.
The surprise development led to a midmorning rally in the stock market, which surged back toward positive territory.
Oil closed down $6.44, at $138.74 a barrel, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, leaving analysts puzzled.
But the market revival did not last. After seesawing between positive and negative territory, the Dow slid in the late afternoon, closing down 92.65 points at 10,962.54. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index followed a similar trajectory, ending down 13.39 points, or 1.1 percent, at 1,214.91. The Nasdaq composite index closed up 0.1 percent, at 2,215.71.
Mr. Bernanke’s gloomy assessment was reinforced by two government reports released Tuesday, one showing that retail sales were nearly stagnant in June, even after Americans received tax rebates from the government’s stimulus plan, and the other showing that producer prices rose more than expected, a sign of accelerating inflation.