Current Event "wallstreet"

Wall Street stumbled in midday trading on Wednesday after Best Buy warned of a sharp downturn in consumer spending, adding to pessimism about a holiday season that already appeared bleak.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down nearly 300 points at 2 p.m., and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 3.8 percent as financial markets extended losses into a third day.
The financial markets had been trading down all morning, but began a sharp slide just before Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. appeared at a lectern to discuss the $700 billion financial bailout. Mr. Paulson said that government assets would not be used to buy up troubled assets, as originally planned, but would instead go to buying stock in banks and infusing money into other financial institutions.
As he spoke, markets headed for their session lows.
Wednesday began with more troubling news from the retail sector. Best Buy said its same-store sales could decline 5 percent to 15 percent from November until February. Best Buy lowered its earnings expectations to $2.30 to $2.90 a share, compared with an earlier prediction of $3.25 to $3.40