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Elizabeth Duke confirmed by Senate as new Fed Governor using a recess appointment.
Oil up $2.75 at $142.30 after trading up to $142.99 earlier.
Dow down 117 to 11337
S&P down 7 to 1276
Dollar index down .19 to 72.30

U.S. Stocks Drop, Dow Nears `Bear Market;' AIG, Merrill Fall2008-06-27 17:26:17.340 (New York) By Michael Patterson
June 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, pushing the DowJones Industrial Average to the brink of a bear market, onconcern subprime-related writedowns will worsen and record oilprices will reduce profits at consumer companies.The Dow extended its retreat from an October closing recordto almost 20 percent, the threshold for a so-called bear market.American International Group Inc. slid to an 11-year low on theinsurer's plans to absorb as much as $5 billion of losses fromunits hit by writedowns. Merrill Lynch & Co. dropped to itslowest level since March 2003 after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.increased its second-quarter loss estimate. Micron TechnologyInc., the largest U.S. producer of memory chips, plunged the mostsince February as falling prices weighed on earnings.The Dow lost 121.16, or 1.1 percent, to 11,332.26 at 1:24p.m. in New York. The 30-stock, down 10 percent this month in itsworst June since 1930. The S&P 500 slid 8.77 points, or 0.7percent, to 1,274.38. The index dropped 2.9 percent yesterday,the steepest decline since June 6. The Nasdaq Composite Indexslipped 23.97 to 2,297.4. More than two stocks declined for eachthat rose on the New York Stock Exchange.``This week the news on earnings is that the second quarteris probably going to be worse than we thought,'' said Ron Sweet,vice president of equity investments at USAA InvestmentManagement Co., which oversees $100 billion in San Antonio. ``Theold news keeps sticking around: it's energy prices, it'swriteoffs at banks, it's the slow economy.''The S&P 500 has fallen 3 percent this week, while the Dowhas slid 4 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled 4.2 percent. The fourconsecutive weeks of declines for the S&P 500 is the index'slongest losing streak since January. The S&P 500's 8.7 percentdecline so far in June is the worst monthly performance since the11 percent plunge in September 2002.Earnings SlumpAnalysts forecast earnings for companies in the S&P 500 willslump 11 percent on average, according to a Bloomberg surveytoday, compared with a projected decline of 8.9 percent a weekago. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategist David Kostin said in areport today that expectations for 2008 and 2009 profits are``too optimistic'' and are likely to be reduced.American International Group Inc. decreased 54 cents to$27.55. The world's largest insurer plans to absorb as much as $5billion of losses for a dozen insurance units after theirsecurities-lending accounts suffered $13 billion of writedownstied to the subprime-mortgage collapse during the past year.Merrill fell 41 cents to $32.64. Lehman analysts widenedtheir second-quarter per-share loss estimate for the third-biggest U.S. securities firm to $2.78 from 64 cents, citingbigger-than-estimated writedowns related to the credit-ratingdowngrades of bond insurers.Micron SlidesMicron slid 74 cents to $6.25 after posting a wider third-quarter loss as prices plunged for semiconductors used to storepictures and music in portable devices.U.S. stocks tumbled yesterday as oil's $5-a-barrel surge,forecasts of more credit-market writedowns and a slowing economythreatened to extend a yearlong profit slump.``The month of June has been difficult,'' Matthieu Bordeaux-Groult, who helps oversee about $6.2 billion as fund manager atRichelieu Finance in Paris, said in a Bloomberg Televisioninterview. ``There are a lot of negative elements in the marketsuch as high raw materials prices, but valuations are low andoffer buying opportunities.''The S&P 500, which has fallen 13 percent this year, isvalued at 21.2 times earnings, near the lowest in two months.