George Stocks continued to move decisively lower as investors worry that the Fed may have tightened too much, choking-off earnings projections for next year. Analysts rushed to downgrade tech stocks in the computer, networking, and Internet sectors. The chaos in Florida is a vague source of uncertainty.
Interest rates are too high.
Instability in the Middle East reminds investors the world is still a dangerous place. And finally, plausible sounding scenarios for a full blown recession are beginning to appear in the media. Oracle lost Gary Bloom, a 14-year Oracle veteran who ran the company's core database and Internet businesses. Last summer, Ray Lane, Oracle's president stepped down. Mr. Bloom's resignation sparked a series downgrades and price target cuts on Oracle by some financial analysts, which helped sour the tech stocks first thing in the morning.