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JADow Falls Again
The Dow Jones industrial average continued its wild ride today as share priced plummeted. Stocks fell nearly 700 points as investors across the board panicked and dumped their shares for the seventh straight day.
Stocks fell Wednesday on continued pessimism about the economic outlook, despite an emergency rate cut from the Federal Reserve that was coordinated with other central banks around the world. The move was another effort to unlock credit and jump start banks into lending again. The lack of available capital has made it harder for businesses to function on a daily basis and for consumers to get loans. The US government announced a plan to extend short term loans to businesses to alleviate credit pressure.
Technology stocks did fairly well today, with high earnings reports from IBM, but the gains were pummeled by dipping oil and auto prices. Auto shares tanked after a report said auto sales will hit recession levels this year and sink lower next year.
A year ago today the Dow closed at an all-time high of 14,164.53. As of Wednesday's close, it had lost over 33% of its value.
