Japan Stocks Drop on U.S. Spending Concern; Sharp Set to Slump (Nikkei down 377 pts at this moment)

[truthisfreedom]

Source: Bloomberg

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's stocks dropped for a third day as slumping earnings at U.S. companies stoked concern demand in the world's biggest economy will wane.

Sony Corp. was poised to slump after U.S. retailer Best Buy Co. cut its forecast on a ``seismic'' spending slowdown, and the yen rose to a two-week high. Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. sank 4.5 percent as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to divert a $700 billion rescue package from banks to consumer credit pointed to prolonged credit turmoil. Television maker Sharp Corp. was set to drop after saying it will book a one-time loss that's about four times as big as its earnings last quarter.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 252.04, or 2.9 percent, to 8,443.47 as of 9:08 a.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index fell 23.49, or 2.7 percent, to 851.74. All 33 industry groups on the Topix retreated, while futures traded in Singapore indicated a 6.4 percent drop in the Nikkei.

Read more: http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axMU158aFLL4&refer=home

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Bad news gets worse.

[Hissyspit]

1. Oh, joy.

[Doctor Cynic]

2. Good thing I held onto my shorts last week.

[Raschel]

3. Is this it? Is this where the world economy falls apart?

[amandabeech]

4. Down 445 or 5% at 9:51 EST.

This just keeps looking worse and worse. It's feeding on itself and the cheerleader and the dartmouth football player are totally clueless.

The TARP is dead, and I hope that Obama has some folks working their way through the TARP legislation looking for a way to get some of that money back.

I think that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd need to revise that legislation next week to give it a quid pro quo. The Brits did it, so can we.