So much for the post election bounce

It's a good news, bad news scenario. I filled up with $1.97 per gallon gas, but the world economy is seemingly coming unglued. Here are a few more headlines as we wait from the post election stock market bounce:



Oil drops 7% on recession concerns
Oil tumbled nearly 7 percent on Thursday on expectations that demand would slow further after the International Monetary Fund predicted developed economies would deliver their worst performance since World War II.

Large job losses expected in October numbers
Financial markets, investors and economists are preparing for the worst employment report in five years to be released by the Labor Department on Friday. The median forecast by economists surveyed by MarketWatch was for a loss of 210,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in October, the most since March 2003. According to a survey of work sites, payrolls have already declined for nine straight months for a total of 760,000 fewer jobs.

Retail sales another huge blow
U.S. retailers, already struggling with a protracted sales slump this year, suffered another disastrous sales month in October as Americans continue to shun unnecessary purchases in tough economic times.

The sales reported Thursday were the worst in at least eight years, since Thomson Reuters - which tracks monthly sales for 34 of the nation's largest retailers including Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Gap (GPS, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and J.C. Penney - began tracking the results in 2000.

October same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, fell 0.7% and were much worse than an initial forecast of a 0.3% drop, according to Thomson Reuters.

Later......


Wal-Mart, however, which typically doesn't consider itself to be a gift-buying destination, could emerge in surprisingly good shape after the holiday season.

In October, the world's largest retailer actually reported better-than-expected monthly sales as more cash-strapped consumers flocked to its discount stores for bargains on groceries and household goods.

Wal-Mart said its same-store sales rose 2.4%, beating its own forecast for a 1% to 2% increase in the measure for the month.

Credit card bond sales sink to zero in October
Credit card companies were shut out of the market for bonds backed by customer payments in October for the first time in more than 15 years, as investors shunned the debt amid the global credit freeze.

California's Schwarzenegger proposes measures to temporarily halt foreclosures
The proposal mandates a 90-day stay on the foreclosure process for homes that are still occupied by owners and have received notices of default. Lenders may be exempt from the 90-day stay if they could present proof of an aggressive modification program to permit troubled homeowners to stay in their units.