*Stocks are plunging

Dow down more than 600 points.

*Make that 514 points. From the NYT:

Improvements in the credit markets — including the third straight day of declines in bank borrowing rates — did little to placate stock investors who are eying the corporate consequences of an economy that many economists believe is already in a recession. Earnings reports have been weak this week, and many companies have warned about lower sales and a bleak outlook for the remainder of the year. The problems have appeared in a range of industries. The aviation giant Boeing saw profits fall 38 percent last quarter. Merck, the pharmaceutical company, posted a 28 percent drop in net income and will cut jobs.