Dow Is Off 7,401.24 Points From Its Record High in '07

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled through the 7000 level shortly after the open, then through 6900 and 6800 to finish at 6763.29, down 299.64, or 4.2%. The Dow has fallen 7,401.24 points from the October 2007 record, a 52% drop.

All 30 Dow components fell. Though the financial sector's woes continued to hold center stage, the energy sector also was a loser, hurt by a 10% slide in oil prices as traders bet on further declines in demand.

Prices for Treasury securities rose, and yields fell, as investors sought the safety of government debt. But gold, which had been strong, slipped for a sixth day.

Some market participants are beginning to talk about a possible bottom around 6000 for the Dow, said Doreen M. Mogavero, president of New York floor brokerage Mogavero, Lee & Co. "This market will only stop [falling] when people run out of stock to sell," she said.
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by: By PETER A. MCKAY
WSJ

Dollar Trades Near Highest Level Since 2006 as Stocks Tumble

The U.S. currency traded at $1.2583 per euro as of 11:14 a.m. in Tokyo, from $1.2578 late yesterday in New York when it touched $1.2578, the strongest level since Feb. 19.

The yen was at 122.77 per euro from 122.58 and traded at 97.48 per dollar from 97.45 yesterday.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback versus the euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona, traded at 88.891 from 88.940 yesterday. It earlier reached 89.003, the strongest level since April 2006.
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by: Bloomberg

Secretary Clinton Visits Isreal

The US secretary of state plans to talk about how to move to a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. But with Israel still in the process of forming a new government, few are predicting significant progress.

Mrs Clinton arrived in Israel from Egypt, where the US and other international donors pledged almost $4.5bn (£3.2bn) for rebuilding Gaza.
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by: BBC News

Missile Defense in Jeopardy

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sent a secret letter to Russia's president last month suggesting he would back off deploying a missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, U.S. officials said Monday.

The letter to President Dmitri Medvedev was hand-delivered in Moscow by top administration officials three weeks ago. It said the United States would not need to proceed with the interceptor system, which has been opposed by Russia since it was proposed by the Bush administration, if Iran halted any efforts to build nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.
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By Peter Baker
New York Times
Posted: 03/02/2009 06:06:54 PM PST