NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Friday in a worldwide selloff with investors cashing out of stocks as signs mounted that the global economic slowdown could be deeper than feared and the corporate profit outlook darkened. Forced liquidations by hedge funds and mutual funds to raise cash to meet large-scale redemptions by investors made the losses even steeper, analysts said. Stock markets tumbled around the globe on Friday. By afternoon trading in New York, the MSCI's all-country world index was down 5.6 percent on more evidence of a sharp slowdown in Europe and a rash of profit warnings worldwide. The sell-off on Wall Street did not, however, live up to investors' worst fears after selling in index futures before the marked opened was so severe that trading was halted.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Friday in a worldwide selloff with investors cashing out of stocks as signs mounted that the global economic slowdown could be deeper than feared and the corporate profit outlook darkened.
Forced liquidations by hedge funds and mutual funds to raise cash to meet large-scale redemptions by investors made the losses even steeper, analysts said.
Stock markets tumbled around the globe on Friday.
By afternoon trading in New York, the MSCI's all-country world index was down 5.6 percent on more evidence of a sharp slowdown in Europe and a rash of profit warnings worldwide.
The sell-off on Wall Street did not, however, live up to investors' worst fears after selling in index futures before the marked opened was so severe that trading was halted.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Boosted by foreclosures and plunging prices in the West, sales of pre-owned homes and condos rose sharply in September to the highest level in 13 months, an industry trade group reported Friday. Existing-home sales rose 5.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million, the National Association of Realtors estimated Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected sales to rise to a 5 million pace from 4.91 million in August
The real estate bubble has been fueled by abundant credit, low interest rates allowing borrowing much more money for a much longer period and, most of all, by collective ideology pushing people to become first time buyers at any cost (and often, too high a cost), 'cause it will be worth even more tomorrow: real estate is a safe asset, can never go down...
Now, skyrocketing prices and credit crunch have cut the sucker's supply to this giant Ponzi pyramid, and the unraveling there is not going to look any prettier than the stock market... Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
