Washington Post
Fears of worsening economic turmoil in the United States and Europe triggered a broad-based retreat on global markets Thursday, with stock market indexes plunging more than 4 percent in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down for its ninth session out of 10, finishing the day down more than 500 points, or 4.3 percent in the red; the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 4.8 percent; and the Nasdaq tumbled 5.1 percent. All three indexes experienced their biggest weekly drops since May 2010.
The Dow was down 10 percent from highs in May, erasing all gains for 2011.
“The undertone of this is just fear that we’re rolling off again into another recession,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management.
The losses come after nearly two weeks of declines as evidence mounts that Europe’s debt crisis is intensifying and the U.S. economy shows no signs of rebounding soon.
The steep stock market drop that accelerated Thursday is stoking fears that the economy is headed into a sustained downturn at a time when policymakers are particularly ill-equipped to fight it.
The losses, if sustained, would severely undermine the efforts of both government and individuals to dig out of the severe debt that many analysts say is at the root of the nation’s economic troubles.
The Federal Reserve already has in place policies that have kept interest rates at near-record low levels, raising doubts about what more it can do. Meanwhile, the federal government has not shown the political capacity to enact new stimulus efforts.
“If we tie the hands of fiscal policy, and monetary policy has no new weapons and households are still cutting back . . . that is what the financial markets are reflecting now,” said Dan Seiver, a finance professor at San Diego State University.
If the market losses continue, it would complicate efforts to fix the nation’s ailing housing market and it would make it more difficult for hard-pressed state and local governments to balance their books. Already, both of those sectors have been cited as drags on the nation’s overall economic growth.
The Bob Tuskin Radio Show
Excellent. Perhaps this will spark the revolt that is so long overdue. DEATH to all politicians.
DEATH TO ALL CORPORATE CEO’S. BURN DOWN THEIR SATANIC HEADQUARTERS AND EXECUTE ALL EMPLOYEES.
BURN THE BANKS DOWN ANS SLAUGHTER ALL BANKERS.
KILL ALL “SCIENTISTS” AT FT. DETRICK AND THE UNIVERSITIES THAT HAVE ENGINEERED BIOWEAPONS. BURN DOWN THE LABS, EVERY FUCKING ONE OF THEM.
KILL ALL COPS THAT RESIST THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
DESTROY WALL STREET. KILL ALL “INVESTORS.”
Robert S. Finnegan, USMC (1976-1984)
Free Peoples Of The United States In Exile
Jakarta, Indonesia
rsfinnegan@gmail.com
+62-821-23-926857
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