DOW JONES

U.S. stock index futures point to a sharply lower opening on Monday as the nation lost its risk-free reputation.

S&P?s stunning and controversial downgrade Friday in part reflected the firm?s assumptions about the U.S. political system?s ability to solve its problems. Others hold a more optimistic view, as Winston Churchill did. Churchill said, ?In the end, you can count on America to do the right thing - after she?s exhausted all other possibilities.?

Stocks closed out their worst week in more than two years on Friday in a volatile session that saw the major indexes whip back and forth before the S&P 500 ended down less than a point.

The Dow and S&P 500 dipped into negative territory late on Friday in a volatile session that saw large swings in the indexes, as worries about the economy caused investor skittishness.

Stocks closed out its worst week in more than two years on Friday in a volatile session that saw major averages whip back and forth before the S&P 500 settled with a slim loss.

U.S. consumer credit borrowing in June jumped to highest numbers since August 2007, the Federal Reserve announced today.

The Dow Jones endured several severe ups and downs on Friday after the announcement of a relatively positive jobs and unemployment rate reports.

U.S. stocks rose in volatile trade on Friday as investors saw a buying opportunity following the sharp sell-off that took the S&P 500 down 10 percent over the last 10 sessions.

Traders appear to be focusing on the European debt crisis, which is reaching emergency levels.

Despite posting strong quarterly earnings on Thursday, LinkedIn saw its stock yo-yo downwards on Friday, at one point dropping down over 8 percent.

Hiring increased slightly in July and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.1 percent, calming jitters after the worst day on Wall Street in almost three years. The Dow fell nearly 513 points Thursday, its biggest decline since Oct. 22, 2008.

Solid July job gains calmed U.S. markets on Friday, but Wall Street remained nervous among talk that the nation may be falling into a double-dip recession.

Stocks tumbled across the globe on Thursday amid growing worries about the U.S. economy and Europe's mounting debt problems, reviving fears of another deep recession.

The U.S. economy unexpectedly added 117,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday. Equally significant, the private sector added 154,000 jobs. The report was a pleasant surprise, but the nation is still in a deep hole job-wise -- short about 14 million jobs.

Markets remained jittery Friday even as Dow futures rose ahead of a jobs report that was slightly better than expected.

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower opening on Friday as investors are cautious ahead of key U.S. monthly non-farm payrolls and unemployment data from the government.

The U.S. stock market had a mini-meltdown on Thursday ahead of Friday's all-important Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) jobs report as fears about the global economy slipping into another recession weighed on the sentiment.

Investors fled U.S. stocks and dumped commodities on Thursday, rushing to the safety of government bonds on growing fears the global economy was weakening.

Fears of a new recession caused the stock market to take a deep plunge on Thursday making it the worst day since the financial crisis in 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 512.76 points, or 4.13 percent, closing at 11, 383.68.

Investors fled Wall Street in the worst stock-market selloff since the middle of the financial crisis in early 2009 in what has turned into a full-fledged correction.The Dow and the S&P tumbled more than 4 percent on Thursday and the Nasdaq lost 5 percent on fear the United States is staring at another recession and that Europe's sovereign debt crisis is swallowing two of its largest economies.

?The damage this week is more than last week ? translation, more damage from economic fears than debt fears.?