Good thing we did that debt ceiling deal to prevent the financial markets from crashing.... except the financial markets are crashing/
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 351.48 points, or 2.95 percent, at 11,544.96, after briefly falling 3 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 42.05 points, or 3.34 percent, at 1,218.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 94.45 points, or 3.51 percent, at 2,598.62.
The July jobs report will be out tomorrow, and if it doesn't improve on the last couple of months' anemic growth, expect all hell to break loose. The decline in oil prices is potentially helpful to consumers, but also signals fears about further economic slowdown. And of course the European crises continue to yield near-panic.
The debt ceiling bill failed to provide any relief to investors who were hoping for a better long term outlook on the US economy. Investors are more focused on the short-term problems in Europe and a slowing economy in the US. European equity markets closed around 3% lower on average, with Germany down 10% in a week. European banks down by more than half over the last year.
Bottom line: while Washington was fiddling the last few weeks, and Republicans were playing Al Qaeda, the Really Big Problems were continuing to fester, and nothing has been done to address them. Indeed, we've only made them worse.