Stocks Plunge As Dollar Hits New Low

Dow Jones Falls More Than 360 Points; Oil Trades Above $98 For First Time Before Retreating

(CBS/AP)  Wall Street suffered its second big drop in a week Wednesday, with investors worried about spreading fallout from the credit crisis at banks and about a dollar that just keeps getting weaker. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 360 points, just about matching its plunge of last Thursday.

The Dow's plunge was its third 300-point drop in just four weeks, reports CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason. And the Dow has now fallen 800 points, or 6 percent, from its all-time high less than a month ago.

Stocks were rattled right out of the gate after General Motors posted a stunning $39 billion loss, most of it due to tax accounting charges.

Then the dollar tumbled to new lows, adds Mason, after a Chinese official called for his country to move some of its foreign currency reserves out of the weakening greenback and into stronger currencies like the euro.

Meanwhile, oil prices stalled in their climb toward $100 a barrel after a government report said oil inventories fell less than expected last week while refinery utilization remained flat.

Oil investors largely viewed the report as neutral in that it confirmed a view that oil supplies are falling, but offered no real surprises. A larger than expected drop would most certainly have propelled oil past $100 a barrel for the first time.

Crude inventories did fall at the closely-watched New York Mercantile Exchange delivery terminal in Cushing, Okla., but that did not appear to be enough to propel prices sharply higher.

"We got kind of a mixed reaction," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

At the pump, meanwhile, the national average price of a gallon of gas rose 1.9 cents overnight to $3.043, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices are up nearly 29 cents since mid-October and are 85 cents higher than a year ago.

"I don't think it's a question of whether we hit $100. It's a question of how much time we might spend there," Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service told CBS' The Early Show.

The 13-nation euro hit a fresh record against the dollar, rising to $1.4729 - before falling back. The dollar fell not only against the euro but in Asia following a report that a senior Chinese political figure said China should diversify its $1.43 trillion foreign exchange reserves into the euro and other strong currencies.

The fear with a huge drop like Wednesday's is whether it is part not just of a correction, which is a 10 percent pullback in stock prices, but that it could be the beginning of a bear market. With the huge volatility that has swept Wall Street since the summer, and triple-digit moves in the Dow becoming commonplace, no one can be sure.

Still, the concern on the Street is that the extent of the fallout from the credit market crisis that has led to billions of dollars in losses for major banks and investment firms is not yet known. With Citigroup Inc. announcing Sunday it needed to take an additional $8 billion to $11 billion in writedowns, investors are very uneasy not just about stocks, but the economy as a whole.

"The financials are the bodyguards of the market and when the bodyguards are taking shots then the market can't do well," said David Darst, chief investment strategist for Morgan Stanley's global wealth management group.

"A lot of the bad stuff is known, what the markets are worrying about is the unknown," Darst said.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 360.92, or 2.64 percent, to 13,300.02. The Dow, which had gained 117 points on Tuesday, had fallen 362.14 last Thursday, reflecting the extreme fractiousness on Wall Street these days.

Broader stock indicators also pulled back Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 44.65, or 2.94 percent, to 1,475.62, moving below the psychological benchmark of 1,500. The Nasdaq composite index fell 76.42, or 2.70 percent, to 2,748.76.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 25.81, or 3.22 percent, to 775.96.

[donbl1]

Write,,,,

Then free up more areas for drilling!!!

[writescripts]

It is just a matter of time now before our economy goes down the toilet due to hyper-inflation. Oil is going to be one of the main culprits because our lazy elected representatives are not doing their jobs, and letting the oil companies weaken the dollar by over charging the public.

[finewoven]

So, what is the net of the dollar devaluation? Higher cost imports, eventually higher interest rates and more American jobs.
Posted by donbl1 at 09:41 AM : Nov 08, 2007

Yes, and to keep stagflation in check.

[donbl1]

The value of the dollar is sort of counter common sense. The dangers of a weak dollar are adequately reported.

However the benefits of a Weak dollar?

1. Encourages vacationers from overseas.
2. Increases exports of American goods
3. Encourages overseas manufacturers to move factories to the US. That is what caused Honda and Toyota to initially move factories to the US. Now they are protected from currency moves.
4. Encourages overseas investments in hard American assets - re: Japanese purchases of US land, buildings and companies in the late 80''s and early 90''s which they eventually sold at a loss BTW.
5. Forced appreciation of the Yuan.

So, what is the net of the dollar devaluation? Higher cost imports, eventually higher interest rates and more American jobs.

[jowand]

He''''s published three books on economics. Read ''''em free at ronpaullibrary.org
Posted by TopProphet at 04:30 AM : Nov 08, 2007

Let me have the Ron Paul Special a Bologna-Spam Whopper, make it QUICK.

[jowand]

If we had exploited our own US oil reserves 15, 10 or even 5 years ago we wouldn''t be having a problem right now with the so called world oil shortage. Dollar down, exports up 16% last quarter, not bad. This will probaly make China let the Yuan float up in value; China is buying all of their oil based on the value of the US dollar as the Yuan is pegged to the US dollar, it should be much higher. This will make Chinese imports to the US much more expensive encouraging more BUY AMERICAN.

[radiob-2009]

Kudos to Ozzy and Speakinup for keeping the conversation civil yesterday.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Leave it to ''''tbweb'''' to wrap up his blather with some unsubstantiated Zionist apologist screed against Iran.
How very predictable.
Posted by FeelFree1"

Don''t be too hard on tb, I get the feeling he genuinely cares, but has difficulty shedding decades of brainwashing by the journalism, entertainment, education, and religious industries.

Most people have difficulties when contrary proof comes up against long held beliefs. Imagine for a moment, the skies thundering "I send My Son again", then the clouds open up, and a naked "Black" man steps out, smoking a joint.

Perhaps a quarter of the world''s population would instantly go totally insane.

[topprophet]

Ron Paul can win the GOP nomination. If he does, I predict a landslide victory in November of 2008. Even the oddsmakers in Vegas aren''t willing to discount his chances. They''re currently giving him 3:1 odds to win against Hitlery if he gets the nomination. Romney, McCain and the globalist, sell-out Giuliani aren''t given anything better than a 35:1 chance of winning if they get the GOP nod. All it takes is for formerly apathetic individuals to get off the couch and nominate him in their local Republican primary or caucus process. Political parties are nothing more than tools. Those who read the manual and use the tools properly will win the nomination for their candidate. For the past 20 years, many good people have stayed at home and accepted whatever candidate they let others select for them. This year, those people are learning how to use their vote to bring about positive and long overdue political change in this country. To make a difference, you must participate in the Republican primary election or caucus process in your county, precinct or district. Nothing else matters. If we do this, we win. If not, we lose. The GOP has been suffering from declining participation for decades. Fewer than 10% of registered voters have ALL the power because they actually participate. Now the remaining 90% must surge to use their vote as a tool for bringing about positive change to our country. The time to act is now. The time for political revolution has come. The time for Ron Paul is NOW!

[feelfree1]

Leave it to ''tbweb'' to wrap up his blather with some unsubstantiated Zionist apologist screed against Iran.

How very predictable.

[topprophet]

If he is elected President, Dr. Paul''s will work to abolish the Federal Reserve System as well as the IRS, returning return our country to the Gold Standard. He believes, as I do, that our current Income Tax System is unconstitutional, because it''s is a direct tax that is not equally apportioned as The Constitution requires. Whenever taxes are raised by the federal government, it should be done as The Constitution DOES require--in an indirect way which is equally apportioned. This system would benefit all of us, creating more individual wealth, and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives. Dr. Paul will also work to abolish the Federal Reserve, a group of private banks which loans our government money that they print out of thin air, making each dollar in your pocket worth less, and increasing our national debt. The Federal Reserve is not a government agency. It is a group of private banks run by unelected officials who are not required to be accountable to we the people. Worse, our economy and our very independence as a nation is increasingly in the hands of foreign governments such as China and Saudi Arabia, which finance our runaway spending. If we don''t cut spending now, especially overseas military spending, higher taxes and economic disaster will be our future. Our guidelines for governing taxation and spending is called The Constitution. Ron Paul has ACTUALLY read it! He''s published three books on economics. Read ''em free at ronpaullibrary.org

[topprophet]

Noticed prices are higher lately? So have I. Inflation, which increases the price of everything you buy, be it a dozen eggs at the store, or the price you pay for gas at the pump, is caused when The Federal Reserve, a group of private banks run by unelected officials, who are not accountable to we the people, lowers the interest rate, notwithstanding the fact that the Dollar has been undergoing a major devaluation overseas, rather than increasing the interest rate like it should have done. That''s Economics 101, folks. Everything costs more in U.S. Dollars, because the Dollar is worth less. Because the Fed is allowed to print unbacked money out of thin air, and then loan it to the our government, which is then saddled with an interest obligation to pay it back, our money is becoming worth less and less each day, and our National debt to the Fed is approaching 10 trillion dollars. It gets worse. Most of our debt is owned by China (25%) and Saudi Arabia who buy our Treasury Bonds, which finances our runaway military spending overseas. This is a threat to our nation, folks. We need to stop this madness. We need to bring our troops home from overseas, and use the trillions we would then save thereby to reduce our debt, and to re-invigorate our currency. We can then use this money to ensure that Social Security and other essential programs will still be solvent in ten years. Vote for Ron Paul. He''s written entire books on the topic of sound economics. ronpaullibrary.org

[topprophet]

All of these trade deals and world governmental organizations that all of the presidential candidates support (except Ron Paul), such as the ICC, NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA, are all major threat to our nation''s sovereignty. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites. The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a prescription to take herbs and vitamins. The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws to meet their needs, and not our own. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs. The NAFTA superhighway, which is currently being built, is just one part of a plan to erase our borders and create the North American Union, a single nation State like the EU, out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new, unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under the NAU scheme. There won''t be any borders anymore, or a free America. Our limited, constitutional government, will be gone forever. Let''s not forget the UN either. It wants to impose a direct Carbon Tax on us. Ron Paul successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to rule over us, we need someone in the White House who knows how to say "No." We must withdraw from any organizations or treaty that infringes upon our nation''s sovereignty. Vote AMERICA FIRST! Vote for Ron Paul.

[topprophet]

Things people should know about Rudolph Giuliani: A Spanish company, Cintra-Zachry, which is owned by the King of Spain, is already building the North American SuperCorridor highway through the middle of our country thanks to NAFTA, and they''re going to get the tolls. Rodolph Giuliani''s Law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani represents that Spanish company. Another Giuliani business, Giuliani Capitol Advisors was once a partner of Cintra-Zachry, and actually owned the rights to collect tolls from the Indiana and Chicago sections of the SuperCorridor before Giuliani sold that interest recently to an Australian company called Macquarie. Bracewell & Giuliani represents some of the biggest multi-national oil, utility infrastructure and financial corporations both in the U.S. and abroad. With that have come the connections that Giuliani has been able to tap into for campaign donations, essential for his Presidential bid, not only in Texas but nationwide, as he has become the consumate NWO globalist. Particularly unnerving, given Giuliani''s personal experience on 9/11, is his defense of open borders at any cost while condoning the NAFTA Superhighway Corridor and by extension the North American Union, without the consent of the U.S. Congress or the will of the American people. We should have seen it coming when Mayor Giuliani enacted Special Order 40 in 1994, ordering NYC cops to stop checking the immigration status of suspects caught violating the Law. Vote for a REAL AMERICAN--Ron Paul.

[topprophet]

I agree with Dr. Paul on the Social Security issue. Our nation''s promise to its seniors, once considered a sacred trust, has become little more than a tool for politicians to scare retirees while robbing them of their promised benefits to pay for militarization. Today, the Social Security system is both broke and broken. Those in the system are seeing their benefits dwindle due to higher taxes, increasing inflation, and irresponsible military spending. The proposed solutions, ranging from lower benefits to higher taxes to increasing the age of eligibility, are NOT solutions; they are betrayals. Imposing any tax on Social Security benefits is unfair and illogical. In Congress, Dr. Paul introduced the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act (H.R. 191), which repeals ALL taxes on Social Security benefits, to eliminate political theft of our seniors'' income and raise their standard of living. Solvency is the key to keeping our promise to our seniors, and he introduced the Social Security Preservation Act (H.R. 219) to ensure that money paid into the system is ONLY used for Social Security. Also, it is fundamentally unfair to give benefits to anyone who has not paid into the system. The Social Security for Americans Only Act (H.R. 190), which Ron Paul supported, ends the drain on Social Security caused by illegal aliens seeking the fruits of your labor. We must also address the widespread desire of younger workers to save for retirement on their own.

[topprophet]

Like Ron Paul, I share our Founders'' belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms. They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents Law-abiding Americans from exercising this right. Congressman, Paul has always supported the Second Amendment and these are some of the Bills he introduced in the current Congress to help restore respect for it: H.R. 1096 includes provisions repealing the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the Federal Firearms License Reform Act of 1993, two invasive and unconstitutional Bills. H.R. 1897 would end the ban on carrying a firearm in the National Park System, restoring Americans'' ability to protect themselves in potentially hazardous situations. H.R. 3305 would allow pilots and specially assigned Law enforcement personnel to carry firearms in order to protect airline passengers, possibly preventing future 9/11-style attacks. H.R. 1146 would end our membership in the United Nations, protecting us from their attempts to tax our guns or disarm us entirely. In the past, he introduced legislation to repeal the so-called assault weapons ban before its 2004 sunset, and he has opposed all attempts to reinstate it. Congessman, Paul also recently opposed H.R. 2640, which would allow government-appointed psychiatrists to ban U.S. veterans experiencing even mild forms of PTSD.

[topprophet]

Ron Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. It''s ironic that other GOP candidates are scared to death of his message, BECAUSE his is more conservative than theirs. Being anti-war IS CONSERVATIVE. Another key difference between his message and the others is that he is a strong defender of The Constitution, which protects our civil liberties. The other Presidential candidates, who are mostly NWO Oligarchs, want to erase your liberties. They''ve tried hard to exlude Paul from the spotlight, along with the sold-out, mainstream media. In late June, despite a life of antitax agitation and pious churchgoing, he was excluded from a Republican forum sponsored by Iowa anti-tax and Christian groups. Ron Paul does not represent your Father''s school of political thought. He represents your Founding Fathers. He stands for a certain idea of The Constitution; the idea that much of the power asserted by modern presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the States. Though Dr. Paul acknowledges flaws in both The Constitution (it included slavery) and its Bill of Rights (it doesn''t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn therefrom: against gun control; for the sovereignty of States; and against foreign-policy adventures. His message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism.

[topprophet]

Ron Paul''s message is not new. You could have heard it in 1964 or 1975 or 1991 at the conclaves of those conservatives who were considered outside the mainstream of the Republican Party. Back then, most Republicans appeared reconciled to a strong federal government, if only to do the expensive job of defending the country against Communism. But when the Berlin Wall fell, the dormant institutions and ideologies of pre-cold-war conservatism began to stir. In his 1992 and 1996 campaigns, Pat Buchanan, who calls Ron Paul one of the Republicans he "most admires," was the first politician to express and exploit this change, breathing life into the motto America First (if not the organization of that name, which opposed entry into World War II). Like Buchanan, Paul draws on forgotten traditions. His top aides are unimpeachably Republican but stand at a distance from the party as it has evolved over the decades. His chief of staff, Tom Lizardo, worked for Pat Robertson and Bill Miller Jr. is the son of Barry Goldwater''s vice-presidential nominee. His national campaign organizer, Lew Moore, worked for the late Congressman Jack Metcalf of Washington State, another Goldwaterite. At the grass roots, Paul''s New Hampshire primary campaign stresses gun rights and relies on anti-abortion and tax activists from the organizations of Buchanan and the state''s former Senator, Bob Smith.

[topprophet]

To those who don''t vote: Voter disenfranchisement and apathy infects the heart of our Republic. Get off your couch, put your remote control down, and become active in your nation''s political process. The pathetically few people that do vote in this country, a.k.a., "the ruling class", who currently get to decide under what kind of conditions (and Laws) you and your family will live, are certainly involved. I can assure you of that. In fact, the ruling class would be much happier if you would just continue to stay home and watch TV in your pleasantly distracted and brainwashed, stupor. That way they can continue to elect their political ****** to office, and continue to maintain their grip on 100% of the political power they currently own in this country. If you voted (God Forbid), it would cancel-out their vote, and they would lose control. They can''t have that. Can they? If you don''t vote, my friends, you''re nothing but an unwashed "Pleb" to those that do, and the ruling class should rightfully consider themselves superior to you in every way. They do, after all, have all the power, while you have none. If you''re too apathetic and powerless to do anything for yourself more time-consuming than driving down to Mickey D''s to buy a milk shake in order to sieze control of your life, and your country''s destiny, then perhaps you deserve to be ruled over like the "Pleb" that you then are. The time to act is now. The time for political revolution has come. The time for Ron Paul is NOW!

[topprophet]

They Don''t call him "Doctor No" for no reason. Congressman, Paul never votes for any Bill which he feels is not authorized by The Constitution, regardless of what it is named. Ron Paul "is one of the easiest people in Congress to work with, because he bases his positions on the merits of issues," says Barney Frank, who has worked with Paul on efforts to ease the regulation of gambling and medical marijuana. "He is independent, but not ornery." Paul has made a habit of objecting to things that no one else objects to. In October 2001, he was one of only three House Republicans to vote against the USA Patriot Act. He was the sole House member of either party to vote against the Financial Antiterrorism Act (412-1). In 1999, he was the only naysayer in a 424-1 vote in favor of casting a medal to honor Rosa Parks. Nothing against Rosa Parks. Paul also voted against similar medals for Reagan and Pope John Paul II. He did offer $100 of his own money, though, to help pay for Reagan''s medal, and invited others in Congress to match his offer, but not one Member took him-up on it. Instead, Congress spent YOUR money. He not only routinely opposes resolutions that are unconstitutional, he votes against Bills which presume to advise foreign governments how to run their affairs: He has refused to condemn Mugabe''s violence against Zimbabwean citizens (421-1), to call on Vietnam to release political prisoners (425-1) or to ask the League of Arab States to help stop the killing in Darfur (425-1).