Dow(n) 545 points now! NASDAQ is down 6%, S&P down almost 6%.

[originalpckelly]

http://www.cnbc.com/

:wow:

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[originalpckelly]

2. They S&P and NASDAQ are actually more the 5% now.

Dow(n) is above 4%.

This is less about the AAA to AA+ thing, and more about BofA.

[originalpckelly]

4. VIX is up 35% today, up to 45.

This would be the fear index.

For comparison it hit a little over 80 in the 2008 crisis.

We are still thankfully 35 points away, but we'll see how it continues to rise, a couple more days of this increase, and we'll be at 80 very soon.

[originalpckelly]

6. Oh my god, it's almost at up 40% in only the short time I posted that!

:wow:

For comparison, it was about this high after 9/11. Still not as bad as the '08 crisis though, on the bright side.

[originalpckelly]

10. VIX is up 45% on the day!

It's just sliding off a cliff now.

[AngryOldDem]

3. Looks like it's in another free fall.

Down -500 as of 2:15. It was hovering around 325-350 until just before Obama's remarks.

[chill_wind]

9. Yes. CSpan did a quick check before and after. n/t

[adigal]

5. I've been trying to get my husband to take his 457 money out

and use it for a mortgage for a friend of our's. She is on Social Security, so has a pretty safe income, and we would make 5%.

[bdamomma]

7. there is going to be a ripple effect throughout the world now.

[originalpckelly]

8. This is going to be a hellish week.

Depending on what happens to B of A.

[originalpckelly]

11. It's just diving off a cliff.

I'm trying to get numbers from CNBC and they're freezing up, that's how bad traffic is today!

[originalpckelly]

12. Someone must have sent off a stop loss.

That's probably why we had that big decline. Someone sold a bunch of shit all at once. VIX is coming back now. Other markets are doing the same. Buyers are coming in to get bargains, I'm guessing.

[MilesColtrane]

13. To me that's not as disturbing as the plunge BoA's stock is taking.

Not that I have any love at all for Bank of America, but having it go bankrupt is going to be a huge stressor on the rest of the economy.

We'll be right back were we were in 2008.

[Dawson Leery]

14. The TBTF banks needed to fail.

Eventually they must fail in order to cleanse the system.

[w8liftinglady]

15. I agree. I lot of folks have cash tied up with BOA

[indurancevile]

16. seems not limited to us.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece on Monday banned short selling on the stock market for two months, after shares on the Athens Stock Exchange plunged to their lowest level in more than 14 years as financial markets were buffeted by worries over the U.S. economy following a downgrade of the country's debt.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Greece-bans-shortselling-as-apf-3675445418.html?x=0

[JNelson6563]

17. And all on Obama's watch!!1! !This is like a DU wet dream!!1!

Hard to believe how well some of you are concealing your giddiness.