Markets Sink on Merrill Writedowns

The major indexes were down big today, after Merrill reported massive losses
linked to the subprime mortgage markets. The S&P fell 1.7%, the Dow fell 1.2%,
and the Nasdaq dropped 1.2%.

Merrill Lynch
(
MER |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating)
announced a Q4 loss of nearly $10 billion,
mostly stemming from bad subprime bets. MER fell more than 7% in morning trading
(read
more
).

Ambac Financial
(
ABK |
Quote |
Chart |
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PowerRating)
fell 48% after reporting larger losses than
were expected. The company is rumored to lose its AAA credit rating (read
more
).

Perini
(
PCR |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
dropped 18% after announcing that the Cosmopolitan
Resort and Casino recieved a default note from investor Deutsche Bank. PCR is
the general contractor of the casino under construction.

Monsanto
(
MON |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell 12% after negative analyst comments

Gold rallied 0.3% after a down day yesterday, while oil continued to fall,
down about 0.5%.

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Market Snapshot

Dow


-163.55
12302.44

NASDAQ


29.99
2364.80

S&P 500


24.78
1348.84

Strongest/Weakest Industry Groups

Strongest Industries

% Change

Weakest Industries

% Change

Electronic Stores

+2.27%

Agricultural Chemicals

-7.77%
Auto
Parts

+1.92%

Nonmetallic Minerals and Mining
-7.23%

Residential Construction

+0.62%
Mortgage
Investing

-5.01%

Economic
News


U.S. housing starts drop more than forecast.