Global Economic Woes Drag on Stocks

Stocks continued to slide Tuesday as the positive effect of China's stimulus package gave way to renewed fears about the strength of the global economy.

All three major indexes -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 index and Nasdaq were off more than 2 percent.

Asian and European stocks also declined, following the slightly lower Wall Street close on Monday.  

Trading volumes are expected to be light as the U.S. bond market is closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

Stock and commodity trading is open as usual, with energy prices making an early break lower. Crude slipped below what some considered an important $60 level as traders anticipated that the global recession would carve steep cuts into demand.

Citigroup sought to stem the flow of home repossessions by becoming the latest mortgage lender to try to help borrowers stay in their homes. The bank launched a program aimed at vulnerable borrowers, which it said could refinance $20 billion home loans.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers projects a 41-percent drop in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, thwarting signs of stability the company said it saw in September.

U.S. auto makers pulled into the center of a political storm as President-elect Barack Obama urged outgoing President George W. Bush to support immediate emergency aid for the struggling sector. Analysts remained divided on the benefit of bailing out auto makers.

Shares of General Motors were down more than 15 percent; Ford also declined.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs advised clients to bet against bonds which it sold on behalf of the state of California, the Los Angeles Times reported. The company didn't let the office of California Treasurer Bill Lockyer know that it was proposing a way for clients to profit from California's economic downturn, the paper said.

Goldman Sachs shares, which hit a five-year low on Monday, wobbled.

TJX , which operates TJ Maxx and Marshall's stores, reported its profit fell 5 percent and slashed its 2009 forecast.

It's a big week for retail earnings and it's not expected to be pretty. Still to come: reports from Macy's , Wal-Mart and others.

It's a tough time to sell a $5 cup of coffee: Ubiquitous coffee chain Starbucks said its profit plunged 97 percent from a year earlier as the cost of closing stores chugged all but a penny of profits. Excluding those costs, the barista earned a dime a share.

British mobile-phone group Vodafone cut its full-year revenue outlook for the second time in four months on Tuesday but said it would maintain profits and boost free cash flow by cutting 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) of costs.

American depositary shares of the Vodafone jumped more than 7 percent.

This Week:

TUESDAY: Government offices, bond market closed for Veterans Day
WEDNESDAY: Weekly crude inventories; Fed's Stern speaks; Earnings from Macy's, Applied Materials
THURSDAY: Weekly mortgage applications; weekly jobless claims; international trade; Fed's Plosser, Stern speak; Treasury Budget; Earnings from Wal-Mart, Nordstrom, Kohl's
FRIDAY: Import/export prices; retail sales; business inventories; consumer sentiment; natural-gas inventories; Earnings from Abercrombie & Fitch, JCPenney

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