Stocks Dive Again on Europe, Economy Fears
Dow Sheds Nearly 520 Points; Investors Flock to Bonds Despite Record Low Yields; Rumors Swirl of Weakness in France.
By TOM LAURICELLA, MATT PHILLIPS and DAVID ENRICH
Stock prices tumbled Wednesday, led downward by some of the world's biggest banks. But bond investors offered a potentially more ominous assessment of prospects for the global economy, pouring money into the safety of U.S. Treasury bonds despite yields that are near their lowest levels in history.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 519.83 points, or 4.62% to 10719.94, more than wiping out the gains posted in Tuesday's sizable late-day rally. It was the Dow's fourth triple-digit move in five days and brings its declines since its April peak to more than 16%. The index is less than 500 points away from officially being in a bear market, defined as a decline of 20%.
Asian shares Thursday morning moved lower. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.6%; Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.4%; South Korea's Kospi Composite dropped 1.8% after slumping over 4% at the opening; and New Zealand's NZX-50 was 0.1% lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to an 11-month low as investors were squeezed between fears of further contagion among European banks and the Federal Reserve's gloomy economic outlook. Paul Vigna has details.
.In Europe, rumors swirled about the health of French banks and the possibility that France could lose its AAA credit rating as the country's borrowing costs rise. The main indexes for stock markets in France, Germany, Spain and Italy each shed more than 5% of their value.
The market gyrations and clear worries about the health of the U.S. and European economies sparked a volley of phone calls between senior administration officials, including President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and European leaders. Mr. Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also met with President Obama Wednesday, but no new steps were announced to address the market volatility.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been calling banks with increased frequency amid
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Stocks are on the sky again
Stocks Rally Ahead of Fed
By STEVEN RUSSOLILLO
NEW YORK—U.S. stocks rose Tuesday morning in what is expected to be another volatile session as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy statement and any hint that the central bank will be able to calm markets and boost the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 228 points, or 2.1%, at 11037. The index briefly turned negative shortly after the opening bell, but has rallied since.
Bank of America led the measure higher, rising 4.8% after tumbling 20% in Monday's rout. J.P. Morgan Chase gained 4%. The Dow fell 635 points on Monday, the sixth-biggest point drop in its history, to close at a 10-month low.
The blue-chip index fell beneath 11000 for the first time since November in the wake of Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating. Jittery investors have fretted over government debt and the possibility that the economy could slide into another recession.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index climbed 26 points, or 2.3%, to 1145, led higher by financial and material stocks. Financial stocks were hit the hardest in Monday's drubbing. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite gained 61 points, or 2.6%, to 2418.
By STEVEN RUSSOLILLO
NEW YORK—U.S. stocks rose Tuesday morning in what is expected to be another volatile session as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy statement and any hint that the central bank will be able to calm markets and boost the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently up 228 points, or 2.1%, at 11037. The index briefly turned negative shortly after the opening bell, but has rallied since.
Bank of America led the measure higher, rising 4.8% after tumbling 20% in Monday's rout. J.P. Morgan Chase gained 4%. The Dow fell 635 points on Monday, the sixth-biggest point drop in its history, to close at a 10-month low.
The blue-chip index fell beneath 11000 for the first time since November in the wake of Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating. Jittery investors have fretted over government debt and the possibility that the economy could slide into another recession.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index climbed 26 points, or 2.3%, to 1145, led higher by financial and material stocks. Financial stocks were hit the hardest in Monday's drubbing. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite gained 61 points, or 2.6%, to 2418.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
US Stock Exchange bloodbath
..World stocks slide further
By Ben Perry
AFP News – Sat, Aug 6, 2011.
Enlarge Photo.A display board showing the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong. Hong Kong shares dived …
Enlarge Photo.Closings for Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei stock markets. Global stocks plunged …
AP - Sat, Aug 6, 2011.....Surprisingly robust US jobs data sparked only a brief rebound on Wall Street and in Europe on Friday, leaving investors scarred from a week of heavy losses brought on by slow growth and eurozone debt concerns.
European stock markets initially dived 3.0-4.0 percent after heavy falls in Asia, and rally quickly lost steam following the announcement that the US economy gained a net 117,000 jobs in July.
London's FTSE-100 index closed down 2.71 percent to 5,246.99 points for a weekly loss of 9.8 percent, wiping nearly £150 billion ($246 billion, 173 billion euros) off its total value over the last five days.
In Frankfurt, the DAX dropped 2.78 percent to 6,236.16 points, dropping 13.3 percent over the week.
In Paris, the CAC-40 slid 1.26 percent to 3,278.56 points to chalk up a record 10th consecutive daily loss. It lost 10.7 percent over the week.
In highly volatile trading, Madrid and Milan rebounded for part of the day on rumours that that the European Central Bank was preparing to buy hard-hit Spanish and Italian bonds, before falling back.
Madrid ended the day down 0.18 percent and dropped 10 percent over the week, while Milan fell 0.70 percent on Friday and lost 13.12 percent for the week.
Wall Street also opened higher on the surprisingly strong jobs data, but the rally quickly fizzled.
By Ben Perry
AFP News – Sat, Aug 6, 2011.
Enlarge Photo.A display board showing the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong. Hong Kong shares dived …
Enlarge Photo.Closings for Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei stock markets. Global stocks plunged …
AP - Sat, Aug 6, 2011.....Surprisingly robust US jobs data sparked only a brief rebound on Wall Street and in Europe on Friday, leaving investors scarred from a week of heavy losses brought on by slow growth and eurozone debt concerns.
European stock markets initially dived 3.0-4.0 percent after heavy falls in Asia, and rally quickly lost steam following the announcement that the US economy gained a net 117,000 jobs in July.
London's FTSE-100 index closed down 2.71 percent to 5,246.99 points for a weekly loss of 9.8 percent, wiping nearly £150 billion ($246 billion, 173 billion euros) off its total value over the last five days.
In Frankfurt, the DAX dropped 2.78 percent to 6,236.16 points, dropping 13.3 percent over the week.
In Paris, the CAC-40 slid 1.26 percent to 3,278.56 points to chalk up a record 10th consecutive daily loss. It lost 10.7 percent over the week.
In highly volatile trading, Madrid and Milan rebounded for part of the day on rumours that that the European Central Bank was preparing to buy hard-hit Spanish and Italian bonds, before falling back.
Madrid ended the day down 0.18 percent and dropped 10 percent over the week, while Milan fell 0.70 percent on Friday and lost 13.12 percent for the week.
Wall Street also opened higher on the surprisingly strong jobs data, but the rally quickly fizzled.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
S & P downgraded long term US debt rank
S&P Strips U.S. of Top Credit Rating
By DAMIAN PALETTA and MATT PHILLIPS
A cornerstone of the global financial system was shaken Friday when officials at ratings firm Standard & Poor's said U.S. Treasury debt no longer deserved to be considered among the safest investments in the world.
S&P downgraded the U.S. government's AAA sovereign credit rating, an unprecedented action that could send shock waves through the global financial system. WSJ's Money & Investing Editor, Francesco Guerrera, reports. (Photo: Getty Images)
.S&P removed for the first time the triple-A rating the U.S. has held for 70 years, saying the budget deal recently brokered in Washington didn't do enough to address the gloomy outlook for America's finances. It downgraded long-term U.S. debt to AA+, a score that ranks below more than a dozen governments', including Liechtenstein's, and on par with Belgium's and New Zealand's. S&P also put the new grade on "negative outlook," meaning the U.S. has little chance of regaining the top rating in the near term.
The unprecedented move came after several hours of high-stakes drama. It began in the morning, when word leaked that a downgrade was imminent and stocks tumbled. Around 1:30 p.m., S&P officials notified the Treasury Department that they planned to downgrade U.S. debt and presented the government with their findings. Treasury officials noticed a $2 trillion error in S&P's math that delayed an announcement for several hours. S&P officials decided to move ahead, and after 8 p.m. they made their downgrade official.
By DAMIAN PALETTA and MATT PHILLIPS
A cornerstone of the global financial system was shaken Friday when officials at ratings firm Standard & Poor's said U.S. Treasury debt no longer deserved to be considered among the safest investments in the world.
S&P downgraded the U.S. government's AAA sovereign credit rating, an unprecedented action that could send shock waves through the global financial system. WSJ's Money & Investing Editor, Francesco Guerrera, reports. (Photo: Getty Images)
.S&P removed for the first time the triple-A rating the U.S. has held for 70 years, saying the budget deal recently brokered in Washington didn't do enough to address the gloomy outlook for America's finances. It downgraded long-term U.S. debt to AA+, a score that ranks below more than a dozen governments', including Liechtenstein's, and on par with Belgium's and New Zealand's. S&P also put the new grade on "negative outlook," meaning the U.S. has little chance of regaining the top rating in the near term.
The unprecedented move came after several hours of high-stakes drama. It began in the morning, when word leaked that a downgrade was imminent and stocks tumbled. Around 1:30 p.m., S&P officials notified the Treasury Department that they planned to downgrade U.S. debt and presented the government with their findings. Treasury officials noticed a $2 trillion error in S&P's math that delayed an announcement for several hours. S&P officials decided to move ahead, and after 8 p.m. they made their downgrade official.
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