Dow drops 250 on earnings woes, recession fears

Wednesday October 22, 12:15 pm ET - NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street tumbled again Wednesday as investors shifted their focus from improving credit markets to worrisome corporate profit forecasts that are raising fears of a deep economic slowdown. The major indexes fell more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 250 points.

In late morning trading, the Dow fell 253.28, or 2.80 percent, to 8,780.38 after being down 412 points in the early going. On Tuesday, the Dow retreated 231 points after forecasts from DuPont Co., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. raised fears that companies' outlooks for the fourth quarter and beyond could signal a severe economic downturn.

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U.S. Treasury chief admits credit crunch won't end 'any time soon' as Asian markets slump again

The U.S. administration pledged to do whatever it takes to battle a severe financial crisis that is threatening to push the country into a steep recession.

But even with the aggressive steps the government has already taken, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says it will take time before things turn around.

'Clearly, we're going to have a number of difficult months ahead of us in terms of the real economy,' Paulson said Tuesday in an interview on 'The Charlie Rose Show.'

Asian markets veered sharply lower today, with Tokyo's Nikkei index tumbling 6.79 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 6.2 per cent, while South Korea's main index shed 5.1 per cent. European markets also opened lower.

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