A good wrap-up of some of the days main points.
Credit worries, Wal-Mart slam Wall St
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'U')S stocks skidded overnight on fresh signs that global credit markets were seizing up,.
A lower profit forecast from Wal-Mart Stores also renewed worries about consumer spending.
Wal-Mart's pessimistic outlook and subsequent news that a US investment firm wants to halt redemptions delivered a one-two punch to already shaky confidence.
"Sentinel caught the biggest headlines today, and there were rumours about more liquidity issues and more distress concerning the investment banks," said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors in New York...
..Home Depot Inc. shares dropped 4.9 per cent to $33.52 after the home improvement store reported its first quarterly sales decline in more than four years as the housing market softened...
..Inflicting further pain on financial stocks was news that a Canadian trust couldn't find the funds it needed to repay outstanding asset-backed commercial paper and that a bank had declined to provide liquidity.
And Swiss bank UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, warned that market turmoil was likely to hit its investment banking business in the second half of the year...
..Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest US mortgage lender, skidded 8.1 per cent to $24.46 after the company said foreclosures and delinquencies rose in July to their highest level in at least several years...
..US crude oil for September delivery gained 76 cents to settle at $72.38 a barrel.
In economic news, rising energy costs drove up US producer prices last month, while the trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in June on stronger exports, according to reports, suggesting the Federal Reserve will remain cautious about cutting interest rates.