U.S. stocks end lower for third day as Best Buy adds to gloom

Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:01:49 -0500
U.S. stocks end lower for third day as Best Buy adds to gloom

U.S. stocks close sharply lower as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
shifts the focus of the government's bailout plan from troubled
mortgage assets to consumer credit and Best Buy Co. Inc. cuts its
outlook.

GOOGLE STOCK BELOW $300 MARK FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2005

Analysts who follow Google Inc. cut their estimates for the Internet
giant's fourth-quarter financial results, as the company's shares dip
below the $300 mark for the first time in more than three years.

FUTURES MOVERS: CRUDE FUTURES DROP 5% TO CLOSE AT A NEARLY 22-MONTH LOW

Crude futures fall below $57 per barrel, extending declines during a
second session as concerns about a sharp slowdown in demand push
prices to a fresh 21-month low.

PAULSON FLIPS THE SCRIPT ON FINANCIAL-RESCUE PLAN

The Treasury secretary lays out details for the next stage of the
government's financial-market rescue package, announcing that he has
shelved the original plan to buy troubled mortgage assets while
turning his attention to nonbank financial institutions and consumer
finance.

BEST BUY FLAGS UNEXPECTED PROFIT DROP AS CONSUMERS CUT BACK

Best Buy Co. cuts its fiscal 2009 outlook because of a fast-paced
meltdown in consumer spending since the end of summer.