So much for the hip-hip-hurrays on Wall Street. After it looked as if the economy was saved, things took a dramatic turn for the worse. Stocks fell fast and hard as brokers’ hopes and dreams were snatched away from them. A big drop in retail sales and a Federal Reserve report that said tight credit conditions are hurting businesses across the country definitely didn’t help the situation.

The word “recession” keeps popping up and as time passes, it really looks as if we are headed towards one. The Dow is down about 733 at the 8,577 level. Reported by the Federal Reserve in Wall Street’s little black book technically called their “beige book,” it had been discovered that the economy continued to slow in the early fall as financial and credit problems grew worse. Also, difficulties in obtaining loans have “choked growth in wide swaths of the economy.”

“Even though the banking sector may be returning to normal, the economy still isn’t. The economy continues to face a host of other problems,” said Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at ChannelCapitalResearch.com. “We’re in for a tough ride.”

Popularity: 8% [?]