Overseas markets tumble; Wall Street looks grim

[EV_Ares]

By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY
HONG KONG — Asian stock markets plunged again Thursday and European stocks followed as investors fled the fallout from the troubled U.S. mortgage market — and U.S. stocks appeared headed for another sharp downturn.

The damage in Asia was widespread: South Korea's benchmark Kospi Index plummeted 6.9% to 1691.98, its lowest level in since May; Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 3.3% to 20,672.39; Singapore's Straits Times Index lost 3.7% to 3,152.16; Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2% to 16,148.49 and briefly dipped below 16,000 before clawing back a bit. Thai shares lost 3%, Philippine 6%, Indonesian 6%.

Asian shares, some of which had risen to record levels this summer, started tumbling last week on fears that global banks may be exposed to problems in the United States' subprime mortgage market, loans to borrowers with weak credit histories.

Analysts such as those at the Moody's credit-rating agency expect the damage to be limited. But investors weren't waiting to find out. They cashed in profits on stocks that had reached stratospheric levels.

Japan's central bank plowed another $3.4 billion into money markets to calm investors, its third intervention since Friday.

((((entire article @ link below))))

http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2007-08-16-world-markets-thur_N.htm

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(snip fr WSJ Today)

Stocks Appear Set for Heavy Losses
After Global Markets Tumble
A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP
August 16, 2007 8:28 a.m.

U.S. stocks appeared set for heavy losses Thursday following steep declines in Asian and European markets, with economic data expected to show how subprime troubles started.

About an hour before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had dropped 160 points to 12761. The S&P 500 futures fell 17.4 to 1397.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 19 to 1859.5. Changes in futures do not always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.


(No link to WSJ; subscription only)

[Cruzan]

1. Dow futures down 121

[MannyGoldstein]

2. My Schadenfreude Is Eclipsed By My Terror

This could really, really suck.

[Cobalt Violet]

3. I feel so uneffected by all this crap.

I suppose when you have nothing to lose it's not so bad.

[EV_Ares]

5. The only problem with it is it does have an effect on everyone, jobs,

interest rates, etc., just the psyhological effect alone on all business activities affects everyone. Its just another example of Bush's failed economic polices. They want to blame everything on clinton, I'll blame everything on him.

[radfringe]

4. but the decider says it's fine.... n/t

[fasttense]

6. And governments across the globe are pumping and pumping and pumping

billions into assets owned by the wealthiest families in the world in a blatant and frantic effort to manipulate their markets. Yet the market still keeps tumbling down, down to adjust to the true value of the stocks. Where, oh where, have the little free marketeers gone?