Free Republic

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...