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S&P 500 -24.36 CLOSE 979.73
NASDAQ -54.68 CLOSE 1,930.84
RECOVERY DOUBTS EMERGE
MARKIETWATCH: Stocks and commodities suffered a broad-based decline Monday as fear spread around the globe that an economic rebound may be farther off than previously thought . . . READ MORE
CONSUMER SPENDING WOES
INSPIRE INVESTOR RETREAT
CNN/MONEY: Wall Street retreated on Monday, falling for the second straight session, as worries that nervous consumers will pressure a fragile recovery dragged stocks lower after a five-month advance . . . READ MORE
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Investors were already on edge at the start of trading Monday, after China's main market index plunged 5.8 percent overnight . . . Losses spilled over into European and U.S. markets . . . Investors have become increasingly worried that the economy won't be able to emerge from recession if consumers don't increase their spending . . . READ MORE HOUSING PAIN HITS ECONOMY
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: The unusually steep decline in home prices has caused about one-fourth of America’s household wealth to disappear in the past two years. Despite signs of some stabilization in the housing market lately, by one new estimate one-third of all US mortgage borrowers have "negative equity," with loan balances bigger than their home’s market value . . . READ MORE
MORTGAGE DELINQUENCIES RISE
ASSOCIATED PRESS: The number of people who were late making their mortgage payments shot up 53 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the same period in 2007 . . . READ MORE
- NEVADA: MORTGAGE CRISIS WORSENS
- ARIZONA FORECLOSURES SURGE
- CALIFORNIA CRISIS CONTINUES
- FLORIDA FORECLOSURES 'HORRIFYING'
- FLORIDA COURT FIGHTS FORELOSURES
REUTERS: China Investment Corp. (CIC) is reportedly set to invest up to $2 billion in U.S. mortgages. CIC plans to invest soon in U.S. taxpayer subsidized investment funds of toxic mortgage-backed securities . . . READ MORE
BB&T TAKES OVER COLONIAL BANK;
FAILURE COSTS F.D.I.C. $2.8 BILLION
BIZJOURNALS: Colonial BancGroup Inc., which is based in Montgomery, Ala., was seized by bank regulators Friday and has been taken over by BB&T Corp of North Carolina. It is the sixth-largest bank to fail in the nation’s history . . . The failure will cost the federal insurance fund $2.8 billion, according to the FDIC . . . READ MORE
COMMENTARY: THE NEW LEDGER
IS THE RECESSION COMING BACK?
FRANCIS CIANFRACCO: Contrary to conventional belief, the conditions are not in place for the kind of strong recovery we’ve seen in the recent past . . . Neither the underlying financial conditions nor the consumer demand are in place for that . . . READ MORE
COMMENTARY/RGE MONITOR
U.S. BANKS UNDERCAPITALIZED
YGES SMITH: Despite the stress test baloney, the banking system is undercapitalized by a large margin. . . . Colonial Bank, a $25 billion bank taken out last Friday, was deemed well capitalized until recently. We noted its much bigger neighbor, $140 billion Regions Bank, similarly deemed to be well capitalized, has effectively said it is insolvent. How many other banks are broke save thanks to overly permissive accounting? . . . READ MORE
VIDEO COMMENTARY: CATO INSTITUTE
BIG GOVERNMENT VS. THE ECONOMY
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