But Per Bush, Greenspan, The Economy Is Geting Better And

[Jon8503]

We Are Turning The Corner:
Stocks Tumble As Oil Tops $55 Per Barrel
NEW YORK - Worried investors sent stocks tumbling Friday as crude oil futures topped $55 per barrel and tepid earnings from Microsoft Corp. and the Coca-Cola Co. offset Google Inc.'s strong third-quarter report. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 108 points, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 2 percent. The major indexes finished the week mixed.

Oil prices again pressured the market, casting doubt not only on fourth-quarter earnings, but also on the health of the economy as a whole. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $55.17, up 70 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"These oil prices are really going to bite the consumer at some point. Heating oil is up, it's supposed to be a very cold winter in the Northeast, and lower and middle income people are going to pay," said Russ Koesterich, U.S. equity strategist at State Street Corp. "Combine that with a total lack of fundamentals in the big name stocks, and there are very few places left to hide for investors."

Shares of Google surged in early trading as the online search giant doubled both revenues and profits from a year ago. Like its initial public offering two months ago, Google was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise depressed market.


The Dow Jones industrial average fell 107.95, or 1.1 percent, to 9,757.81, setting a new low for the year to date and posting its lowest reading since Nov. 24.


http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041022/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street_28

[BeatleBoot]

1. See Also

http://www.freep.com/money/business/tompor23e_20041023