Stocks plunge on earnings report, financing costs
Lower-than-expected earnings at Exxon Mobil Corp. and ongoing questions about debt defaults and a slowing in the takeover frenzy combined to clobber stocks this morning. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 243.8 points, to 13,541.3, and the Standard & Poor’s index was down nearly 32, to 1,486.2. Exxon reported that production fell, and homebuilders including […]