AP, via Yahoo:
Stocks Fall Sharply Amid Credit FearsFriday August 3, 5:57 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks Fall Following Concerns About Credit, Weaker-Than-Expected Economic Readings
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street plunged anew Friday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 280 points after comments from a major investment bank exacerbated the market's fears of a widening credit crunch.
The drop of more than 2 percent in major stock market indexes was a fitting end to two volatile weeks on Wall Street and followed back-to-back, late-day triple digit gains in the Dow. This time, the catalyst for a sharp skid was Bear Stearns Cos. Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro, who described turmoil in the credit market as the worst he'd seen in 22 years.
Stocks started the day with a decline after the government said jobs growth was not as strong as expected last month and a trade group reported that the nation's service sector grew at a slower pace than expected in July. Then, credit concerns, which have dogged investors for months and have roiled markets since last week, further weighed on investor sentiment; Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its credit outlook on Bear Stearns to negative from stable because of the investment bank's exposure to the distressed mortgage and corporate buyout markets.
"I think there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty with regard to the credit markets and how the situation will ultimately settle," said Mike Malone, trading analyst at Cowen & Co.
Investors remain worried that problems in subprime mortgages -- those made to borrowers with poor credit histories -- will force lenders to make credit less available. When people and companies can't borrow money as easily, the economy tends to slow down. .....(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070803/wall_street.html?.v=48
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