Update: It’s a Happy, Happy 50th for “Barack Obama”: as Dow Plunges Over 500 Points, and Loses All 2011 Gains,

After He Suckered GOP into Caving in on Phony Debt Deal; Tax Increases on the Way, with No Spending Cuts
By Nicholas Stix

The John Doe calling himself “Barack (Hussein) Obama II” is bathing in a glorious 50th birthday today. He got his way with the Republican-majority House, and as a result the Dow is way down, and taxes will soon be shooting skyward, as part of the plan he revealed during his presidential campaign, and which he has consistently followed ever since, to bleed white America dry, and give the money to racist, incompetent, crooked blacks, Hispanics, and even South Asians.

US stocks plunge in worst day since crisis
(AFP) – 2 hours ago

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 4.3 percent Thursday, its worst one-day drop since the financial crisis, as global markets melted down over fears of a new economic downturn.

The Dow closed down 512.76 points to 11,383.68. The broader S&P 500 lost 4.8 percent to 1,200.07, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.1 percent to 2,556.39.

More turmoil over sovereign debt problems in Europe and feeble US economic data are stoking "fear that the economy is heading for a double-dip recession," said Peter Cardillo of Rockwell Global Capital.

"The market is pricing that in," he said.

The last time that the Dow fell as many points in a single day was in October 2008, during the nadir of the global financial crisis.

All three indices are now well below the level at which they began 2011.

"We're seeing the erosion and now the loss of confidence, confidence in the economy, confidence in the market, confidence in the policy makers. It's all showing up," said Hugh Johnson, of Hugh Johnson Advisors.

Markets worldwide were on edge over fiscal weakness in Italy and Spain and the eurozone's ability to contain more crisis, as the two countries' borrowing costs surged in recent days.

Meanwhile the US Labor Department reported that weekly claims for unemployment benefits remained at a high 400,000 last week, as business and government layoffs persisted while new job creation remained sluggish.

All of the Dow's 30 blue-chip stocks were hit by the sell-off, but losses were most pronounced in basic materials, energy and financial companies, as well as large industrial conglomerates.

Aluminum giant Alcoa was the Dow's hardest-hit stock, plunging 9.3 percent for the day. Bank of America fell 7.4 percent, while Caterpillar dropped 7.0 percent. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing was down 6.3 percent.

Kraft, which was up in early trading after it unveiled plans to split into two companies, one for its US grocery business and the other for its global snacks portfolio, was down 1.5 percent.

Stock markets have shrugged off a largely positive series of company earnings reports.

GM was down 4.3 percent for the day even after reporting that its quarterly profit surged 89 percent to a better-than-expected $2.5 billion. The car maker would have trouble meeting its sales forecasts in the event of a downturn.

Bond prices rose as investors flocked to the refuge of US government debt, a traditional safe haven. [N.S.: Not any more!]

The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.46 percent from 2.60 percent late Wednesday, while that on the 30-year bond fell to 3.72 percent from 3.87 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.