NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell sharply Friday after a series of depressing economic and earnings reports and high oil prices stoked concerns about the health of economy. The major stock indexes fell more than 2 percent, with the Dow Jones industrials at times giving up more than 300 points.
Investors were unnerved by disappointing quarterly results from American International Group Inc. and Dell Inc. And an index of regional business activity that Wall Street regards as a good indicator of a broader report set to arrive next week registered its weakest reading in more than six years.
Adding to Wall Street’s list of worries, oil prices continued to stir concern about inflation after topping $103 per barrel for the first time, in electronic trading overnight.
Yeah, oil at $103 a barrel bums me out too. The only people probably unconcerned about it are our good friends at Big Oil, and Mr. “I don’t keep track of the price of gasoline” Bush.
