The broad markets are still in negative territory but up nearly 3% from their lows of the morning. Particularly strong are the retailers positive by over 4%.
Concerning the Fed cut today:
Madlen Read, AP Business Writer
It was the first time the Fed altered the target federal funds rate between scheduled meetings since the markets reopened after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The cut was the biggest one-day rate move by the Fed since it lowered rates by a full percentage point in December 1991, when the country was trying to emerge from recession.
One reason Wall Street is so terrified about the economy is because its own financial muscle has atrophied. The banking industry in the second half of 2007 watched its portfolios shrink by some $135 billion because of losing bets on mortgages. Just Tuesday, Bank of America Corp. posted a 95 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, and Wachovia Corp. reported that its fourth-quarter earnings dove 98 percent.
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