A burst of selling in the final minutes of a volatile day of trading left stocks sharply lower yesterday as investors focused more on the deep strains in the economy than on a glimmer of optimism in a surprise gain in new-home sales.
Trading was light as investors awaited the beginning of the Federal Reserve’s two-day [...]

U.S. stocks headed for yet another sharply lower open Monday as stock markets tumbled further around the world on worries about the health of the global economy. U.S. stock futures fell but came well off their worst levels. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 145, or 1.8 percent, to 8,116, after being down more than [...]

The coming blitz of quarterly results may leave investors more confused than ever about the outlook for corporate profits and the economy
For stock investors, this earnings season is turning into the lost quarter.
This month, companies began unveiling their results from the 2008 third quarter, which included July, August, and September. And the next couple [...]

A fifth straight day of losses ends with the Dow down 508 points, the S&P 500 under 1,000, and markets facing their worst year since 1937
When will the selling stop? That’s the mystery.
Economic and credit worries sent U.S. stocks spiraling down for a fifth straight session Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost another [...]

Think stocks are volatile? The dislocations in the credit markets are even more serious, and they pose a greater threat to the economy
With the financial system bailout plan derailed by the House of Representatives on Sept. 29, the resulting plunge in equities made headlines around the world.

Tags: american international group, Bailout, Bankruptcy, Credit Crunch, debt, [...]

Major indexes sank Wednesday as investors digested more extraordinary developments, including the government’s $85 billion bailout of AIG
U.S. stocks headed sharply lower Wednesday morning amid more extraordinary developments on Wall Street. Late Tuesday, the U.S. government extended an $85 billion lifeline to crippled insurer American International Group (AIG; -41.3%), which because of its role in [...]