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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ) is now looking into potential insider trading by Standard & Poor's employees before the rating agency's decision to downgrade the U.S.'s long-term debt, according to Financial Times. The SEC has asked S&P to disclose which employees knew of the downgrade decision before the public announcement, as part of a preliminary examination into potential insider trading. The examination staff will likely try to decipher whether any person's with knowledge of the decision shorted stocks, or in any way benefitted from the U.S.'s downgrade to AA+ from an AAA credit rating. The SEC may...

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stocks markets are stabilizing after a day of dramatic plunges Tuesday as futures point to a measure of calm returning to Wall Street following the Dow's sixth worst decline in the last 112 years. South Korea's Kospi was off 3.6 percent at 1,801.35 after plummeting nearly 10 percent in the morning. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which fell as much as 7 percent, was down 2.9 percent at 19,890.85 and Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average pulled back to a fall of 1.7 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index moved into positive territory — up 1.2 percent at 4,034.80...

he Dow fell more than 600 points Monday, and had one of its largest plunges immediately following President Obama’s speech in the afternoon regarding the downgrade on U.S. debt. In his first public statement following the S&P downgrade, President Obama attempted to encourage Americans that markets still regard the U.S. government debt as being the highest possible grade. President Obama said, "Markets will rise and fall. But this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country." Obama said he hoped the downgrade would give U.S....

The verdict is in: That Obama speech (to which he arrived 53 minutes late) was a disaster, that totally failed to reassure anyone that the economy isn't imploding all over again. Why the wrong note? We wonder if Obama actually believes that he has to tiptoe around the bond vigilantes. See, if we were giving that speech, amid this market, we'd have said: "Congress, get back in session, and let's pas some tax cuts." Obviously that's what's need right now. Instead, Obama focused on deficit reduction! He talked about the super-committee, and the need for tax reform. WHAT? At best,...

What should a U.S. president say to stop stock markets from falling and reassure Americans that the country will be able to solve its debt and deficit problems? President Barack Obama's first public comment about Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt to AA-plus from the top-notch AAA was not enough to stop a market plunge of 600 points, with investors uncertain if Washington can overcome political gridlock. Here is a look at what Obama tried to achieve: * Reassurance. Obama wanted to underscore to Americans that the United States remains the economic envy of the world despite the credit...

It was about time the president weighed in with a statement about the U.S. credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor’s. And that’s not just because the reporters in the room were getting antsy after the president was 50 minutes late getting started. Rather, Obama’s press briefing Monday afternoon about the Standard & Poor’s downgrade came after a weekend in which the primary messaging strategy from the White House seemed to be excuses. Following a bizarre back and forth Friday evening in the news over whether the ratings agency got its math right—a “has it really come to this?” moment...

Wall Street tumbled again Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 635 points and chalking up its Worst day since November 2008, amid a rout in global stocks after rating agency S&P downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time. S&P cut the long-term debt rating for the U.S. by one notch to AA+ from AAA late Friday. The move wasn't unexpected, but it comes when investors are already feeling nervous about a weak U.S. economy, European debt problems and Japan's recovery from its March earthquake. The downgrade sparked a massive sell-off on stock markets around the world...

Stocks took a sharp nosedive in another choppy day Monday to finish at session lows as investors fled from risky assets following S&P's downgrade of U.S.'s credit rating last week in addition to ongoing economic jitters.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged as much as 600 points midday Monday as the market rout continued in the first day of trading after Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States' credit rating. Investors have piled out of stocks all day and into a few safe havens, such as gold and Treasury bonds. The appetite for Treasury bonds suggests that the Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. has not shaken the faith of investors in U.S. bonds. Market experts said that the market selloff on Monday was sparked by the S&P announcement, but is more motivated by growing...

U.S. stocks plunged deep into the red on Monday as fearful investors faced the news that the United States had lost its coveted "AAA" credit rating. All three major U.S. stock indexes were down between 4% and 5%, pushing the Dow below 11,000 for the first time since November. The stock market has now lost 14% during the past two weeks. Market observers tried to say the downgrade by itself shouldn't matter -- that it was expected and that the United States still has a strong credit rating. But the market wasn't buying it. "Investors are having one reaction to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Rand Paul today issued a statement regarding the current mud-slinging and finger-pointing toward the Tea Party for the U.S. credit downgrade. "Blaming the Tea Party for America's debt crisis and downgrade is like blaming the fireman for fires. "The Tea Party has been fighting for a serious solution that would rescue our finances through immediate spending cuts, spending caps and most importantly, a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. With the support of the Tea Party, I offered the only solution that could have prevented our downgrade with our Cut, Cap and Balance plan. "While Democrats...

Live feed of the President's Speech on the Economy.

Stocks tumbled sharply in heavy volume Monday after Moody's said they are maintaining the U.S.'s AAA status, but the rating depends on how the budget deficit is handled in the future. This comes after rival S&P downgraded Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank in addition to cutting U.S.'s credit rating from triple-A for the first time in history last week. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were down over 3 percent. August is already on track to be the worst month for the S&P and Nasdaq since Feb. 2009 and Nov. 2008, respectively.

TOKYO: Tokyo stocks lost 2.18 percent on Monday to end at the lowest point in nearly five months despite a G7 pledge to help stabilise markets in the wake of the first-ever cut in the US credit rating. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 202.32 points to 9,097.56, the lowest finish since March 17, when Japan had just been hit by its huge quake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. The Topix index of all first-section issues sank 2.26 percent or 18.10 points to 782.86. The Nikkei opened down 1.40 percent after the G7 economic powers -- Britain,...

FRANKFURT, Germany, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- European and Asian stocks dropped Monday ahead of Wall Street's opening bell on Europe's runaway debt crisis and the U.S. government's first credit downgrade. British, German and French stock indexes fell more than 2 percent in early-morning trading following a daylong slide in Asian markets. In late-afternoon trading Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was down nearly 3 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down more than 4 percent and Australia's Standard & Poor's/ASX 200 index down more than 3 percent. Seoul's Korea Composite Stock Price Index plummeted more than 7 percent at one point,...

Futures pointed to losses on Wall Street when it opens Monday. Dow futures were off 225 points, or 2 percent, at 11,177 and broader S&P 500 futures shed 23.6, or 2 percent, to 1,174.20. Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating to AA+ from the top-notch AAA -- announced late Friday -- is another blow to confidence in the struggling U.S. economy, analysts said. Worries that the U.S. economy, the world's biggest, is heading back into recession have been compounded by signs that Europe's government debt crisis is threatening to engulf bigger economies such as Italy and...

As U.S. Stumbles, Companies Invest In Consumer Growth Overseas Many begin to give up on the ailing American shopper and make plans to chase growing demand in Asia and Latin America. Shoppers crowd a mall in Brazil, where a growing middle class with more money to spend is a strong incentive for U.S. companies to invest there instead of at home. (Adriano Machado, By Don Lee August 8, 2011 Reporting from Washington— Many major U.S. companies are making big plans to expand overseas even as some of them announce new layoffs at home, and there's a chilling reason why: They're...

pre-market data.

Sen. John Kerry on Sunday laid the blame for the recent downgrade of the nation’s credit rating at the feet of conservative House Republicans. “I believe this is, without question, the tea party downgrade,” Mr. Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Standard & Poor’s rating agency on Friday dropped the U.S. credit rating from AAA to “AA+, questioning the ability of leaders in Washington to deal seriously with the nation’s debt crisis.