Stocks Fall As Investors Dump Financial Shares [Obama's Smoke & Mirrors]

AP Report ^ | April 20, 2009

[Steelfish]

Stocks fall as investors dump financial shares

Investors worry that banks’ recovery could be endangered by bad debt

NEW YORK - Investors are back to worrying about banks.

Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp. said it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses even as it posted earnings that beat expectations. Other big banks have also increased loss provisions in the past two weeks.

Major market indicators tumbled more than 3 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 250 points.

Traders had been looking for some pullback after the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 24 percent from 12-year lows in early March, led largely by a recovery in banking stocks.

Renewed worries about banks’s stability appeared to be triggered by news reports that their lending remains tight and that the government may swap its debt in banks for ownership stakes as its $700 billion bailout fund runs down.

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “Suckers anyone?”

Cute and colorful lollipops there!

Yes, a suckers’ rally is what we saw there for about a week. It’ll be up and down for some time — not good news.

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “I’ll have the sour apple, thank you since I have some money left in bank stock from an ESOP as a former employee. It’s not much, and becoming “not mucher” all the time. Watching the stock is like watching a half squashed squirrel try to cross the rest of the street after the first hit.”

*********

Me too! I had a tiny amount (getting tinier every day) in a former’s employer’s savings plan that I was allowed to take with me when I left the company eons ago. I should’ve cashed out instead of leaving the money in — it will end up less than zero..............