If it were only that easy.... On Nov 7, 7:02 am, Cold Water <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [Democrooks in charge of House, Senate AND the White House? Investors make a > dash for the tall weeds.....expect more of this....CW] > > U.S. Stocks Tumble in Market's Worst Two-Day Slump Since 1987 > > By Lynn Thomasson > > Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks slid, sending the market to its biggest > two-day slump since 1987, after jobless claims jumped and the shrinking > economy crushed earnings at companies from Blackstone Group Inc. to News Corp. > > Blackstone, the largest private-equity firm, fell 12 percent after posting > the biggest quarterly loss in its 18 months as a public company. News Corp. > sank 16 percent after the media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch said ad > sales decreased. Chevron Corp. fell 6.4 percent as oil tumbled to a 19-month > low, while an unexpected decrease in chain-store sales dragged down 25 of 27 > shares in the S&P 500 Retailing Index. > > ``We're a long way from the end of the economic challenges,'' said Mike > Morcos, who helps manage $1 billion at Old Second Wealth Management in > Aurora, Illinois. ``Earnings next year are going to be significantly lower > and estimates are going to continue to come down.'' > > The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5 percent to 904.88, extending its > two-day loss to 10 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 443.48 > points, or 4.9 percent, to 8,695.79. The Russell 2000 Index of small U.S. > companies declined 3.7 percent to 495.84. The MSCI World Index of 23 > developed markets lost 5.9 percent to 925.09. > > The two-day tumble following Election Day wiped out more than half of the > market's rebound from a five-year low on Oct. 27. Both the S&P 500 and Dow > average posted their biggest two-day slides since plunging more than 24 > percent as rising borrowing costs helped spur the market crash of October > 1987. > > Europe Slides > > BP Plc led a 5.6 percent retreat in Europe's benchmark index even after the > Bank of England unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate by 1.5 > percentage points to 3 percent to contain damage from a recession. > Switzerland's central bank and the European Central Bank reduced their main > lending rates by 50 basis points. > > The S&P 500 is down 38 percent this year, poised for the steepest annual > retreat since 1937. The benchmark for U.S. equities has plunged 42 percent > since its record in October 2007 after the U.S. economy shrunk in two of the > last four quarters. > > The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index is known, > climbed 17 percent to 63.68. The measure tracks the cost of using options as > insurance against declines in the S&P 500. > > ``It's just been a steady, steady sell,'' said Alan Gayle, the Richmond, > Virginia-based senior strategist at Ridgeworth Investments, which oversees > about $70 billion. ``The pain and frustration and anxiety of these volatile > moves from one day to the next has discouraged a lot of investors to move to > the sidelines.'' > > Lost Jobs > > About 481,000 workers filed initial jobless claims last week, the Labor > Department said today in Washington, exceeding the 477,000 projected by > economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The number of people staying on > benefit rolls was the most since February 1983. > > A report tomorrow will probably show U.S. employers eliminated jobs in > October for a 10th consecutive month, based on economists' estimates. > > Earnings at companies in the S&P 500 that have reported third-quarter results > fell 9.2 percent on average, Bloomberg data show. Analysts expect full-year > profits to drop 7.7 percent, according to a compilation of analysts' > estimates. > > S&P 500 energy companies lost 6.1 percent as a group, as oil declined for the > third time this week. Crude for December delivery retreated 6.9 percent to > $60.77 a barrel, the lowest settlement since March 2007. > > Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, tumbled $3.73 to $69.96, while > Chevron Corp. slid 6.4 percent to $70.11. > > Tech Slump > > Cisco Systems Inc. declined 2.6 percent to $16.94. The biggest maker of > networking equipment forecast the first revenue drop in five years because of > the financial crisis. > > Advanced Micro Devices Inc. tumbled 11 percent to $3.17. The second-largest > maker of personal-computer processors plans to cut 500 jobs, about 3 percent > of the workforce, as part of its effort to return to profitability. > > Technology companies in the S&P 500 lost 5.4 percent collectively. Dell Inc., > Intel Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. fell more than 5 percent. > > Amazon.com Inc. sank 9.2 percent to $47.22. The largest Internet retailer was > cut to ``hold'' from ``buy'' at Citigroup Inc., which noted the shares' surge > of as much as 36 percent since third-quarter results and concerns consumer > spending will slow. > > GM's Survival > > General Motors Corp. had the steepest decline in almost a month, tumbling 14 > percent to $4.80. The largest U.S. automaker is focused on winning government > aid to survive through 2009, not to help a merger with Chrysler LLC, as it > uses cash faster than it forecast, people familiar with the plans said. GM > plans to give an update on liquidity when it reports third-quarter results > tomorrow. > > Tyco Electronics Ltd. fell the most in more than a year, slumping 12 percent > to $16.78. Fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 55 percent on restructuring > costs and the company forecast a ``significant'' drop in sales and earnings > this period. > > News Corp.'s Class A shares tumbled $1.53 to $8.26. Fiscal 2009 profit will > drop in the ``low to mid teens'' in percentage terms, the company said after > previously forecasting a gain of 4 percent to 6 percent. > > Financial stocks in the S&P 500 fell 6.7 percent as a group, led lower by > Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. The group is down 52 percent in > 2008 as the slowing economy raises concern banks will be hit by more bad > loans after the subprime mortgage market's collapse led to $690 billion in > credit losses worldwide. > > Blackstone's Loss > > Blackstone tumbled $1.05 to $7.55 after the financial crisis eroded the value > of the businesses and real estate it has acquired, triggering a quarterly > loss excluding items of $502.5 million. Blackstone had been expected to break > even, based on the average estimate of seven analysts in a Bloomberg survey. > > Wells Fargo declined 9.2 percent to $28.77 after the biggest bank on the U.S. > West Coast said it plans to sell stock to fund the purchase of Wachovia Corp. > The bank also said losses from the acquisition will be less than previously > expected. > > The bank, which disclosed the share offering yesterday in a statement, had > said it would raise as much as $20 billion to fund the deal. That was before > the Treasury said it was buying $25 billion of Wells Fargo's preferred shares. > > Libor Declines > > The slump in financials came even as the London interbank offered rate, or > Libor, for three-month loans in dollars dropped 12 basis points to 2.39 > percent today, the lowest level since November 2004, according to the British > Bankers' Association. > > Las Vegas Sands Corp., billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, posted > the biggest drop since becoming a publicly traded company with a 33 percent > plunge to $7.85 after saying it may default on debt and face bankruptcy. > > Big Lots Inc. plunged 26 percent to $17.31 for the steepest decline in the > S&P 500. The largest U.S. seller of overstocked and discontinued items said > third-quarter profit may be below its prediction. > > October same-store sales fell 0.9 percent at U.S. chain stores, the first > drop in seven months, and declined 4.2 percent excluding Wal-Mart, the > International Council of Shopping Centers said. Economists surveyed by > Bloomberg had projected a 0.7 percent increase. > > Excluding the effect of the shifting Easter holiday, it's the first decline > since at least 2000, according to research firm Retail Metrics LLC. > > Grocers Gain > > Whole Foods Market Inc. climbed 1.7 percent to $10.48. The largest U.S. > natural-foods grocer received a $425 million equity investment from Leonard > Green & Partners LP. > > Kroger Co., the biggest U.S. supermarket chain, added 1.1 percent to $26.99. > Safeway Inc., the third-largest, rose 2 percent to $22.03. > > Analysts are lowering fourth quarter and 2009 profit forecasts for U.S. > companies as third-period results miss projections at the highest rate in > almost 11 years. > > Companies in the S&P 500 may see fourth-quarter earnings advance 15 percent, > down from 42 percent projected at the end of August, according to a Bloomberg > survey of analysts. Profits in 2009 may grow 13 percent, analysts say, > compared with the 24 percent predicted two months ago. > > To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in New York at [EMAIL > PROTECTED] > > Please Support the Rant List!http://yte.nu/rant > > Join the Rant List today - it's free!http://yte.nu/joinrant > > Incredible Moneymachine - Available > Now! http://yte.nu/private > > __._,_.___ > > Subscribe to the RantList today! http://www.onelist.com > > Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional > Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully > Featured > Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe > > __,_._,___ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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