- Joined
- Aug 7, 2008
- Messages
- 1,125
- Points
- 38
lau sai ah.... lau lau lau
destroy wealth! fuck consumerism! yeah!
U.S. Stocks Retreat as Insurers Cut Dividends, Home Sales Drop
Email | Print | A A A
By Lynn Thomasson
Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for the seventh time in eight days as dividend cuts triggered a selloff in insurers, while an unexpected drop in home sales spurred concern the credit crisis is deepening.
Lincoln National Corp., the insurer that reported its first loss in six years, tumbled 20 percent after reducing its payout by 95 percent, while Allstate Corp. lost 8.2 percent after cutting its in half. Wells Fargo & Co. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. helped lead banks and builders lower as a Realtors group said sales of existing homes fell 5.3 percent in January to the lowest since 1997. All 10 industries in the S&P 500 slid a day after the index rebounded from a 12-year low.
“There’s still a lot of unease,” said Richard Sichel, who oversees $1.3 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co. in Philadelphia. “The fear feeds on itself. There is fear about where earnings will be and fear about many financial institutions.”
The S&P 500 slid 2 percent to 757.64 as of 10:37 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157.87 points, or 2.2 percent, to 7,193.07, while the Russell 2000 Index lost 2.5 percent.
European stocks pared gains and U.S. equity futures turned lower before the start of trading in New York after Ukraine’s credit rating was cut two levels by S&P, a day after Latvia was downgraded to junk. Ukraine’s rating is now the lowest in Europe and on a par with Pakistan, spurring concern that the credit outlook in Eastern Europe is worsening.
Housing Slump
Benchmark U.S. indexes extended declines and European stocks turned lower after the National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in January to an annual rate of 4.49 million and the median price dropped 15 percent from a year ago. Distressed properties accounted for 45 percent of all sales.
The S&P 500 jumped 4 percent yesterday, halting a six-day decline, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s statement that banks need not be nationalized helped lift equities from their lowest valuations in two decades.
Wells Fargo, the biggest West Coast bank, dropped 7.4 percent to $12.08. U.S. Bancorp fell 8.7 percent to $11.45.
Financial stocks lost 6.2 percent, the most among the S&P 500’s 10 industries. The group had its biggest gain in a month yesterday, surging 12 percent.
destroy wealth! fuck consumerism! yeah!
U.S. Stocks Retreat as Insurers Cut Dividends, Home Sales Drop
Email | Print | A A A
By Lynn Thomasson
Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell for the seventh time in eight days as dividend cuts triggered a selloff in insurers, while an unexpected drop in home sales spurred concern the credit crisis is deepening.
Lincoln National Corp., the insurer that reported its first loss in six years, tumbled 20 percent after reducing its payout by 95 percent, while Allstate Corp. lost 8.2 percent after cutting its in half. Wells Fargo & Co. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. helped lead banks and builders lower as a Realtors group said sales of existing homes fell 5.3 percent in January to the lowest since 1997. All 10 industries in the S&P 500 slid a day after the index rebounded from a 12-year low.
“There’s still a lot of unease,” said Richard Sichel, who oversees $1.3 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co. in Philadelphia. “The fear feeds on itself. There is fear about where earnings will be and fear about many financial institutions.”
The S&P 500 slid 2 percent to 757.64 as of 10:37 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157.87 points, or 2.2 percent, to 7,193.07, while the Russell 2000 Index lost 2.5 percent.
European stocks pared gains and U.S. equity futures turned lower before the start of trading in New York after Ukraine’s credit rating was cut two levels by S&P, a day after Latvia was downgraded to junk. Ukraine’s rating is now the lowest in Europe and on a par with Pakistan, spurring concern that the credit outlook in Eastern Europe is worsening.
Housing Slump
Benchmark U.S. indexes extended declines and European stocks turned lower after the National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in January to an annual rate of 4.49 million and the median price dropped 15 percent from a year ago. Distressed properties accounted for 45 percent of all sales.
The S&P 500 jumped 4 percent yesterday, halting a six-day decline, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s statement that banks need not be nationalized helped lift equities from their lowest valuations in two decades.
Wells Fargo, the biggest West Coast bank, dropped 7.4 percent to $12.08. U.S. Bancorp fell 8.7 percent to $11.45.
Financial stocks lost 6.2 percent, the most among the S&P 500’s 10 industries. The group had its biggest gain in a month yesterday, surging 12 percent.
