Dow Sinks 390 Points in Global Selloff, Crude Falls Nears $29

• Dow Sinks 390 Points in Global Selloff, Crude Falls Nears $29
  by Jeremy Herron, Dani Burger, http://www.bloomberg.com/  
  * S&P 500 falls to lowest since August, Europe in bear market
  * Yield on 10-year Treasury note declines below 2 percent
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  Stocks tumbled around the world, with U.S. equities sinking to their lowest levels since August, and bonds and gold jumped as oil’s plunge below $30 sent markets reeling. Treasuries extended gains as economic data and earnings added to concern that global growth is faltering.
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  The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 391 points, European stocks fell into a bear market and the Shanghai Composite Index wiped out gains from an unprecedented state-rescue campaign as global equities added to the worst start to a year on record. Oil touched $29.28 a barrel before closing at a 12-year low. A measure of default risk for junk-rated U.S. companies surged to the highest in three years. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes dipped under 2 percent as doubts grow that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Gold surged the most in six weeks.
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  Crude’s drop to a 12-year low is sending shock waves around the world at the same time concern is mounting that China’s policy interventions will fall short of stoking growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Figures on retail sales and manufacturing Friday showed the U.S. economy ended the year on a weak note, and the start of 2016 wasn’t any better. Energy firms are laying off workers and currency markets from commodity-producing countries are in turmoil. The slump is also denting the outlook for inflation, causing traders to curb bets on how far the Fed will raise rates this year.
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