A report revealing the first decline in consumer spending since the Great Recession shocked Wall Street investors Tuesday and raised fears that the economy could fall into a double-dip recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 266 points to below 12,000, capping an 858-point loss in its longest losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis. Investors ignored Washington’s swift enactment of a long-fought debt reduction deal and zeroed in on the increasingly dicey outlook for the economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index of blue-chip stocks fell 2.6 percent and erased its gains for the year. Gold and U.S. Treasury bond prices soared as investors dived into safe havens.
Full story: Fears of double-dip recession rise