The Dow and S&P 500 are down over 2% and the Nasdaq is down over 3%, thanks to worries about rising jobless claims, Europe's problems, and financial reform. A market strategist told CNNMoney, "There's a heightened sense of nervousness and markets look to be testing the lows of two weeks ago, when we had the mini-crash." Another investor said, "There are a lot of well-known negatives or obstacles to a speedy recovery, specifically in the U.S. economy and even the developed markets around the world. Earlier this year, everyone was assuming that the modest economic improvements were going to continue. It’s almost as if the market overshot itself.” more ›

After last Thursday's stock market plunge, six major stock exchanges will, in the words of the SEC, agree upon "a structural framework, to be refined over the next day, for strengthening circuit breakers." And the Wall Street Journal reports that they will "introduce temporary trading limits on individual stock moves." more ›

Sure, the SEC and other federal agencies are looking into what may have caused Thursday's stock market plunge, but answers may not come as quickly as some wish. Now that the "fat finger theory" that a trader mistakenly entered "billion" instead of "million" has been discounted, the Wall Street Journal reports, that some traders wonder "whether rapid-fire computer trading, coupled with the market's complex trading systems, triggered a free fall that appears to have begun with an order to sell a single stock." more ›

Today wasn't a good day on Wall Street. Concerns about the domestic job market and debts facing foreign countries lead to drops of 2.61 percent on the Dow Jones, 2.99 percent on the NASDAQ, and 3.11 percent on the Standard & Poor's 500, "feeding anxiety about the health of the global recovery," the Times reports. The cost of insuring debt in Greece, Portugal and Spain surged on Thursday because growing deficits "could put them at risk for default." According to Uri Landesman, head of global growth at ING, investors must ask: "How big is this fire going to be? What is panic, and what is legitimate, we don't know at this point. These things tend to turn on a dime." Not helping the situation was the release of a "bleaker-than-expected" report on the US labor market. more ›

The three U.S. stock indices fell 4% or more today: Nasdaq was down 3.99%, the S&P 500 dropped 4.66% (closing at 700.82) and the Dow Jones lost 299 points, closing at 6,763 points, its lowest level since 1997. more ›

The Dow Jones ended the day at 9,065—up 889 points—as, the NY Times reports, "investors began looking for bargains among beaten down stocks." Plus, there's hope that the Federal Reserve will once again cut the key rate. more ›

Of course, the continued high cost of fuel remains a brake on the economy. And if there's one thing that financial markets abhor, it is uncertainty. With the Presidential election eleven months off and a wide variety of candidates bandying about different economic proposals, it becomes difficult for investors to plan for or around what the future may hold. In short, hang on. As one analyst for Standard & Poor's wrote in a research note that was quoted in the Times, "The best investment may be in aspirins and a neck brace."
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