“Head for the lifeboats,” says Glenn Beck

by YankeeJim | May 20, 2010 at 02:22 pm

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I was watching Glenn Beck talking to his chalk board the other day, jabbering about how our time is like being on the Titanic. People on the lower floors are taking in water while those on the upper floor are dining and listening to music. If they only knew what was happening below them, they would be heading for the lifeboats, he explained while comparing to the state of the world economy.

Somehow, the metaphor collapsed, though I was laughing anyway. He’s kind of a spooky guy, and a little nutty.

Yet, the nutty professor is probably correct that there are enough things having gone wrong and still going wrong to warrant some pessimism.

I’ll settle for some realism at least. First, I am pleased to see that the Euro is coming into line with what it is worth. Second, I am glad that Americans are coming to grips that we are in a global economy in which we must compete for our livelihood.

So, if you have the jitters, that’s probably a good thing as we can get onto the business of correcting our behavior and that of our perilous institutions.

“Dow sheds 376 on global jitters

Stocks are officially in a correction. Progress on a financial-reform bill sets off late-day selling. Jobless claims unexpectedly increase. Leading economic indicators see their first decline in more than a year.

Posted by Elizabeth Strott and Charley Blaine on Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:10 AM

Stocks fell for the third straight day and the sixth time in eight sessions on continued worries that the European debt crisis might choke off a U.S. recovery and a sharp sell-off in financial stocks after the Senate voted to close debate on a financial reform bill.

With today's sell-off, the U.S. market is now in a correction, with the Dow Jones industrials ($INDU), the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) all down more than 10% since their April highs.

The Dow closed down 376 points, or 3.6%, to 10,068, its worst loss of the year. The S&P 500 slumped 43 points, or 3.9%, to 1,072, and the Nasdaq was off 94 points, or 4.1%, to 2,204.

The market weakened substantially after 2:50 p.m. ET, when the Senate voted to close debate on a landmark financial-reform bill. Financial stocks sold off heavily, with the S&P 500 Financial exchange-traded fund (XLF) down 4.7% to $14.25. But all sectors of the market were down at least 2.3%.

As the selling progressed, the major indexes fell below their 200-day moving levels, which are important support levels. Futures trading suggests a lower open for stocks on Friday. A key support level to watch with the S&P 500 is around 1,040.

After the close, shares of personal computer maker Dell (DELL) fell 4.2% to $13.72, despite beating Street estimates on fiscal first-quarter results.

The stock felll 4.4% to $14.32 in regular trading. The stock sold off when Dell's gross margin fell short of analysts' forecasts and the computer maker warned that it expects components supply to remain tight.”