No Good News for Feb 05, 2008

Is this the Russian version?

Today the Dow dropped 370 points. Here are the details.

Dow Plunges on Survey of Business – New York Times
“This is an indication for the first time that the bulk of the economy is contracting,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist at MFR. “It is sending people into recession panic mode here.”

Las Vegas Tops Foreclosure List – CNNMoney
Unlike depressed Midwestern cities, the 89131 (Las Vegas zip code) is prosperous, with strong employment and income levels well that are above average for the state. The foreclosure problems in Las Vegas stem from the unaffordable terms of the mortgages themselves, rather than from local economic conditions.

Here is a list of the top 100 zip codes for foreclosures.

Recession is here – economists – CNNMoney
Economists took the latest report as a sign that problems are no longer restricted to just housing and manufacturing. "We're definitely seeing conditions spread to more parts of the economy. The big drop in business activity, that's a huge red flag," said Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics for Moody's Economy.com. Faucher said his firm now believes the economy is in a recession but he believes it's possible that growth will resume in the second half of this year.