Dow slides 680 points on gloomy global economy

Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:01:36 -0500

Dow slides 680 points on gloomy global economy

Energy and financial stocks pace a sharp drop in U.S. equity prices,
as economic reports from around the world compound anxiety about a
global recession.

ECONOMIC REPORT: RECESSION BEGAN A YEAR AGO, ECONOMISTS SAY

The U.S. economy entered a recession in December 2007, a committee of
economists at the private National Bureau of Economic Research say.

THE FED: BERNANKE SAYS FED STILL HAS ARROWS IN QUIVER

The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates just about as far as
they can go, but the U.S. central bank still has plenty of available
firepower it could deploy to restore financial markets to normal, Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke says.

FUTURES MOVERS: OIL DROPS OVER 9% AS OPEC KEEPS OUTPUT ON HOLD

Oil futures tumble more than 9%, coming under heavy selling pressure
after OPEC left current output targets unchanged and in the face of
weak economic data from around the world.