“Technology stocks crashed Wednesday in the wake of fresh worries about the economy, pushing the Nasdaq Composite Index down below the 1,500 mark for the first time in more than five years,” Rex Crum reports for MarketWatch.
“By the closing bell, the Nasdaq had plunged more than 5% to 1,499.21. The index has not closed below the 1,500 mark since May 21, 2003,” Crum reports.
“The Dow shed more than 400 points by the close. The sell-off was sparked by a warning from electronics giant Best Buy Co., which cut its earnings outlook for 2009. The company’s chief executive said the current weakness in consumer spending was creating ‘the most difficult climate we have ever seen,'” Crum reports.
“The warning from Best Buy spooked shareholders for many leading personal-computer and electronics companies. Apple Inc. (AAPL: 90.12, -4.65, -4.9%) , Dell Inc. (DELL: 10.50, -0.83, -7.3%) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: 31.14, -2.11, -6.3%) sell their products as Best Buy stores, and Calyon Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi said those companies will feel some impact,” Crum reports. “‘Clearly this development, along with Circuit City’s bankruptcy, is negative for these companies,’ he said.”
Crum reports, “Shares of Google slid under the $300 mark for the first time since October of 2005 as analysts cut back their estimates for the company, citing worries about the slowing advertising market.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: In After Hours trading, Apple (AAPL) is currently trading at $87.77, down $2.44, or -2.70%, on volume of 261,458 shares.
When $27 or more of the stock is cash in the bank we start to get to the point that a hostile takeover will be funded by Apple’s own cash!
If Steve Jobs does not use the cash, some one else will.
Apple needs to buy back their own stock, go private, or buy another company to protect their cash. How about TiVo! Make the MacMini / AppleTV the DVR of TiVo! Dominate another industry!!!
it’s not surprising that tech stocks are falling and will continue because no one trusts that the tech stocks are properly valued ( remember dot com bubble ? ) just like the mortgages.
Dont worry, Obama will save us. Remember he is the answer to save the economy. He will increase taxes on us which will help us. Just remember that=)
my stocks go down much snappier now
@Obama Rules
I don’t make $250,000. My taxes will go down.
America made a change… for the worse.
thethirdshoe,
If you believe that, you’re a damn fool.
How old are you, nine?
Nothing to worry, NASDAQ is wrong, we are right. As we all know, this whole tech stock crash is part of the evil conspiracy against Apple, orchestrated by stupid analysts. The only two sources of financial information we can trust any more are MacDailyNews and Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who should reiterate his 250$ target any minute now. What the heck, let’s make it a round $300.
@thethirdshoe
Clearly, you don’t listen to Joe Biden, our new VP, or Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico (probably a cabinet member in the coming administration). Both opine that taxes will be raised on anyone making over $115,000 . . . roughly half of what HRH Obama originally proposed.
And if you believe that this modified figure is the actual new floor, you are sadly and childishly mistaken. Get ready, America: You’re about to “get it” at both ends.
I do make more than $250,000 and voted for Obama. I did so because I recognize that the country has to pay down its debts and restore itself to be strong again for my kids future and I believe the Obama administration to be more capable of recovery. I welcome the idea of “getting it at both ends” and can’t wait for us to return to the injustice of the Clinton era again.
I like how a lot of nut jobs are ready to blame our economic woes on a man who has not yet even taken office yet. I can only imagine how shrill you will become once he actually assumes power.
My perspective: I am 36 years old. Out of those 36 years, Republicans have controlled the presidency for 24 of them, and despite what they claim to believe in… the government has gotten bigger, the debt has been growing out of control, our foreign policy is a disaster, corporations run wild, and our civil liberties have been eroded.
I have no idea if my taxes will go up or down under Obama. I suppose we’ll have to see. But my tax rate is not my only concern.. If paying higher taxes means we have a stronger more secure country and affordable health care, then I would consider that a bargain.
Where’s the hotshot who recently “backed the truck up” and bought AAPL at $85 or so?
Granted you’re still ahead, but this alchemic market is turning a lot of gold into shit!!
I didn’t know Obama was president yet. I must have missed something. Last time I checked that moron from texas was still around.
shizzer, you are correct. The moron from Illinois won’t be sworn in until late January.
From http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/11/paul.republican/index.html
Where is our country heading? There’s no doubt that a large majority of Americans believe we’re on the wrong track. That’s why the candidate demanding “change” won the election. It mattered not that the change offered was no change at all, only a change in the engineer of a runaway train.
Since the new alignment of political power offers no real change, we will remain on the same track without even a pretense of slowing the growth of government. With the new administration we can expect things to go from bad to worse.
As for Apple? At least they didn’t eliminate their margins and go bottom-feeding in the good times. Hard to survive lean times when you’re already sick….
Why do people blame the president, any president, for the economy?
Congress sets the taxes, Congress sets the budget. Tired of hearing “vote them all out, just not mine”
Besides, this country is doomed. We are voting for liars who will give us the most presents. All politicians will say whatever they think we want to hear in order to get elected. They know we wont pay attention once they are in office. Most of the public is too stupid to know who their congressman even is.
Someday the producers in this country will revolt and say it is not worth it to try harder anymore.
Over 50% of our country works for government in one form or another. We will keep voting for people who will promise to be our Santa Claus or our sugar daddy.
Just like Rome, our country will collapse from within someday too.
Sad.
@Obama Rules
I iCal-ed that.
This should be fun!
I suspect the those who complain loudest about taxes actually pay the least. When they do start making the big bucks, they’ll soon realize that there are plenty of ways to avoid taxes:
* save the money for the future
* invest it into tools, business, solar retrofits, etc.
* give it away to your favorite nonprofit
It’s all about being part of the solution.
If you make $250K and want to be badly taxed so that this country can pay off his debt, you are sadly mistaken. Your tax will be given to those not paying taxes and to fund Obama’s fantasies like Universal health care (you think that is free?), National Civil defense (with the budget as bis as the military’s, which now stands at $500B. Definitely not free!) and bailing out the car companies (so that Obama can pander for the Unions’ votes again. Also definitely not free). Already Democrats are thinking about converting 401K that can be inherited by your loved ones to retirement accounts which vanish after you’re dead.
But hey, Obama maybe able to collect more donation from fraudulent credit card transactions and foreign donations. That just may free up your taxes to go for paying the national debt.
The stock market is forward looking and has been “pricing” Obama winning the election and is now “pricing” the Obama administration. Clearly the market believes that business is going to be miserable under the Obama administration.
The Democrats have brought this on America with the Fair Housing Act that put people into homes they couldn’t afford, with Fannie and Freddie backing the rancid loans.
I hope I live long enough to see the country recover from the Democrat’s ineptitude and the Obama administration.
Wow, what a lot of sore-loser Republicans and money-obsessed crybabies here. Are you guys really Mac fans or are you just trolls sent by the RNC? I thought Mac fans were supposed to be cool.
Personally, I’m a Mac fan and an Obama voter. My AAPL position has lost $100k in the last year, most of it well before the election, and it could right down go to zero before I’d blame Obama for the loss. And even if it did I’d still be happer than having McGrumpy and that freak-show idiot-whore continue 8 years of the most inept management this country has ever seen.
Give me an 80% top tax rate any day (God knows I’ll never pay it, money’s not important enough to work that hard). The Danes pay 68% and are proven to be the happiest people in the world.
Who is John Galt?
@@John Galt
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2008/10/021856.php
John Galt (originally a character in Atlas Shrugged) is the name used to prove that Obama’s campaign turned off the AVS (Address Verification System). To prevent credit card fraud, the address used in a credit card transaction must match up to the one on the CC company record. By turning off AVS, Obama effectively allowed all kinds of untraced donations from foreigners, prepaid cards, and people over the donation limit, or even donations using a stolen credit card. That’s how Obama collected $650M from the Internet. No mention whatsoever from the mainstream media of this fraud. Obama bought the election using dirty cash.
Obama campaign is still accepting donations even though the election is over. Other names used to make donation Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko.
Who are you liberals going to blame now, Joe the Plumber? Economy was fine up to two years ago when the Dems took control of congress, or were all of you asleep for the last two years. Can’t blame Obama because he is not in office yet, sorry pal the market looks ahead and they don’t like what they see. By the way dumbshits the Rep have controlled congress from 1994 until 2006 when we have had the greatest growth in history. Taxes were down, interest rates down, unemployment at under 5%. Also the Rep’s kept your ass safe for 7 years, kiss all that goodbye, so don’t go to any stadiums or crowded malls for the next 4 years, you may not come out alive.