Dark Days for the Major Indices

The major indexes were down big today, after Merrill reported massive losses
linked to the subprime mortgage markets. The S&P fell 2.9%, the Dow fell 2.4%,
and the Nasdaq dropped 1.9%.

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

Ambac Financial
(
ABK |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
fell 53% 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 26.7% 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 fell 0.5% today, and crude oil futures were down 0.9% as well.

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Market Snapshot

Dow


-306.95
12159.21

NASDAQ


47.69
2346.90

S&P 500


39.92
1333.27

Strongest/Weakest Industry Groups

Strongest Industries

% Change

Weakest Industries

% Change

Electronic Stores

+1.61%

Nonmetallic Minerals and Mining

-7.48%

Residential Construction

+1.29%

Agricultural Chemicals
-7.42%
Auto
Parts

+1.13%
Mortgage
Investing

-7.20%

Economic
News


U.S. housing starts dropped more than forecast in December.