Thursday, January 17, 2008
U.S. stocks slump as Bernanke testifies to Congress
U.S. stocks slump as Bernanke testifies to Congress
U.S. stocks sank into negative territory on Thursday as Federal Reserve
Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke about the economy and after a gauge of
economic activity in the Philadelphia area showed a sharp contraction in
January.
Merrill Lynch humbled by $9.8 bln loss, $11.5 bln write-down
Wall Street titan Merrill Lynch & Co Inc was the latest
financial-services firm humbled by the credit market crisis on Thursday,
writing off $11.5 billion of bad debt and derivatives, and reporting a
loss of almost $10 billion.
Economic Report: U.S. initial jobless claims down 21,000, to 301,000,
last week
WASHINGTON
First-time jobless claims dipped in the most recent weekly data that the
Labor Department reported Thursday, while the recent upward trend in
continuing claims reached its highest level in more than two years.
Economic Report: Housing starts plunge 14% to 16-year low
WASHINGTON
Construction on new homes fell 14% in December to a seasonally adjusted
annual rate of 1.01 million, the slowest building pace in more than 16
years, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Forecaster sees $1,000 gold, but warns market could correct
SAN FRANCISCO
Gold is well on its way to $1,000 an ounce this year, London
precious-metals consultancy GFMS Ltd. reported Thursday, the latest
forecast that sees bullion at the four-digit mark.
