Stocks get whacked

This was the day we were supposed to reflect on that scary Monday 20 years ago. But there are more pressing matters at hand - specifically, a 2.7 percent drop in the Dow right at the closing bell. That's a far cry from the 22.6 percent drubbing in 1987, of course, but it's still pretty bad - bad enough for the NYT to be calling this "Gray Friday." Today will mark the 44th day this year when the market has moved more than 1 percent; in 2006, it happened only 29 times. Actually, Wall Street has been doing a remarkable head-in-the-sand routine for some weeks, but the bad news is starting to catch up: sour earnings results from the major banks (mostly related to the credit crunch), Caterpillar cutting its earnings outlook for the year, oil prices hitting $90 a barrel (though they've since pulled back), and unsettling news from Pakistan and Turkey. Among local issues, Countrywide is really getting hammered, off around 8 percent on the day. (NYT)