Market drops on recession fear

steelbeam · 01-22-2008, 01:44 PM

Stocks tumbled on Tuesday following recession worries that sparked a global equities sell-off, but the market regained some ground amid optimism over a surprise interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

waltky · 02-05-2008, 08:55 PM

Down we go - again...

Wall Street's worst day in 3 months
February 5 2008: Stocks tank after an economic report and comments from a Fed official amplify recession panic. Dow loses 370 points.

Quote:

Stocks tanked Tuesday, after a report showing a big slowdown in the services sector of the economy and cautionary comments from a Fed official amplified fears that a recession is underway or imminent. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost about 370 points, seeing its worst one-day point loss since mid-October. The decline equaled a drop of 2.9%.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 44 points, its worst single-day point loss in almost 6 months. The decline equaled a drop of 3.2%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) fell 73 points and saw its worst single-day point loss since mid-October. The decline equaled a drop of 2.6%.

"The pebble in the pond this morning was the ISM report and then the comments from [Fed President] Lacker came out and that kind of pushed people over the edge," said Kim Caughey, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Partners. "This is a very volatile time, everyone is nervous and the volatility shows the degree of nervousness," Caughey added.

Stocks tumbled in January, with the Nasdaq seeing its worst start to the year ever, on fears that the credit and housing market crises will send the economy into recession, if it isn't there already. After such a steep decline, stocks managed to bounce back for a few days last week as investors scooped up battered shares. But the rally was short-lived, with stocks erasing last week's gains in a matter of two sessions.

MORE

waltky · 02-17-2008, 01:05 AM

Uncle Ferd says, "Hmm - guess they don't place a lotta faith in the Fearless One...

US consumer confidence plummets
Friday, 15 February 2008, Confidence among US consumers has fallen to a 16-year low, a closely watched survey claims.

Quote:

The University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment fell to 69.6 in February, from 78.4 in January. The report said the index had only been this low during past recessions. Its findings come a day after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the outlook for the US economy in 2008 is deteriorating.

The Fed cut interest rates twice in January in an attempt to boost both consumer sentiment and the wider economy, both of which have been dragged down by the collapse in the US housing market.

'Just horrible'

Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, said the latest consumer sentiment data was "just horrible". "It's another recession-type reading" - Keith Hembre, chief economist at FAF Advisors

More BBC NEWS | Business | US consumer confidence plummets