Stocks Plunge! Unemployment Spikes! But...how bout that mooseburger-making hockey mom hottie, eh!?

[jefferson_dem]

Stocks plunge after retail, unemployment data
By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK - Wall Street tumbled Thursday on more disappointing economic news — retailers posted sluggish back-to-school sales reports and the government said the number of workers seeking unemployment benefits spiked last week. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 200 points.
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Investors, already highly anxious about the overall state of the economy, were further unsettled when many of the nation's retailers said shoppers curtailed spending last month due to higher gas and food prices. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, beat Wall Street projections because of its discounts.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said new applications for unemployment insurance rose by 15,000 from the previous week. That broadly missed expectations for a fourth-straight week of declines.

"We're seeing nothing but sellers," said Ted Oberhaus, director of equity trading at Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC. "In a bear market, you sort of really don't need an excuse to sell."

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street