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NEW YORK-Confirmation that the nation is in a recession and signs pointing to a prolonged downturn sent Wall Street plunging once again Monday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 440 points and erasing a huge chunk of last week's big gains. All the major indexes fell more than 5 percent.The market began the day sliding on initial reports that the holiday shopping season, while better than some retailers and analysts feared, was mixed, a sign that Americans are very reluctant to spend. That has Wall Street concerned about the impact of a continuing drop in consumer spending on the sagging economy.According to preliminary figures released by RCT ShopperTrak, a research firm that tracks total retail sales at more than 50,000 outlets, sales rose 3 percent to $10.6 billion on Black Friday. But some analysts are concerned that Black Friday's results aren't indicative of the rest of the weekend; RCT ShopperTrak is expected to release data for the combined Friday and Saturday period later Monday.Meanwhile, downbeat economic reports on the manufacturing sector and construction spending only added to investors' concerns....To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
