Stocks Slide Early on Cyber Monday

The post-Thanksgiving bump of retail sales didn't keep stocks from dropping on the first day after the long weekend, and despite the big rally posted last week. This is all because investors are still concerned about the recession and the affect it is having on the nation's and the world's economy.

The Dow Jones industrials dipped 300 points in early trading, and Standard & Poor's 500 lost 3.9 percent. Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6 percent.

Wall Street did advance on Friday on a short day of trading, aided by the strong spending on Black Friday. Early sales figures from retailers showed a 7 percent increase over last year's Black Friday sales figures. However, analysts expect little more after the post-Thanksgiving sales and predict the momentum won't continue. The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, says shoppers spent $41 billion in the four-day Thanksgiving weekend.

Economic Reports Due
On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management's monthly survey of purchasing managers is anticipated to decrease to a reading of 38 in November from 38.9 in October, from a Briefing.com consensus forecast. Other reports are also showing no signs of good news. A new government report is pointing toward a decline in construction spending in October. It is expected to decline 0.9% after a 0.3% fall in September.

Big Three Bailout
The Big Three automakers are again expected to be asking for help from Congress in the way of a bailout to keep the troubled companies out of bankruptcy. The pleadings from GM, Ford and Chrysler fell on less than receptive lawmakers' ears last month and were told to develop a workable plan and come back with it before December 12. There is growing noise among analysts and other industry experts that the auto industry may receive something in their stocking (government bailout) after all.

Obama To Name Secretary of State
President-elect Barack Obama is to name Senator Hillary Clinton as his choice for secretary of state on Monday. At the same time he is also expected to finally confirm he is asking Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay in his current post and will name retired Marine General Jim Jones as his national security adviser to the White House. Also in the same meeting, Obama will nominate Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador; Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as homeland security secretary and Eric Holder as attorney general.


About the Author

Linda McGlasson

Linda McGlasson

Managing Editor

Linda McGlasson is a seasoned writer and editor with 20 years of experience in writing for corporations, business publications and newspapers. She has worked in the Financial Services industry for more than 12 years. Most recently Linda headed information security awareness and training and the Computer Incident Response Team for Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), a subsidiary of the NYSE Group (NYX). As part of her role she developed infosec policy, developed new awareness testing and led the company's incident response team. In the last two years she's been involved with the Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), editing its quarterly member newsletter and identifying speakers for member meetings.




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