NEWS
- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., world's largest retailer, posts weak December same-store sales, cuts quarterly earnings forecast
- Bank of England cuts key UK interest rate to record low, says world economy appears to be undergoing unusually sharp downturn
- Germany says manufacturing orders dropped by bigger-than-expected 6.0 percent in November, hit by collapsing demand
- US unemployment benefit rolls swell to a 26-year high in the last week of December
- Obama asks Congress to work "day and night" to pass tax cuts plan, public works spending that could total nearly $800 billion
MARKETS
- Nikkei up 0.6 percent. Investors shrug off stronger yen, fears about global economy to buy exporters such as Canon
- Dow, S&P 500 fall as Wal-Mart sales, lowered earnings outlook increase recession worries. Nasdaq up 0.45 percent
- Wal-Mart shares slide 7.9 percent to $51.15, top weight on the Dow
- Dollar falls ahead of a government report expected to show US economy lost more than half a million jobs in December
- Oil down 2.2 percent as deepening economic gloom and soaring crude inventories in the US eclipse geopolitical tensions
QUOTES
"Measures of business and consumer confidence have fallen markedly. World trade growth this year is likely to be the weakest for some considerable time." - The Bank of England.
"Due to the difficult economy and severe winter weather in some regions, the holiday season was more challenging for retailers than expected." - Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright.
"The economy is in real difficult shape here, and their core consumers, lower- and middle-income consumers, that have really been flocking there cut back on discretionary spending." Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics.
"I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. The unemployment rate could reach double digits." - US President-elect Barack Obama.
"There's definitely the worry about the jobs data tomorrow. Expectations are geared for a fairly ugly number despite the fact that the weekly initial claims data was not as bad as it could have been." - Sacha Tihanyi, currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto.
