The numbers via CNN:
More on the reasons from the NY TImes::
The European Union energy commissioner Günther Oettinger said told lawmakers in Brussels that the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power was “effectively out of control.”I imagine a lot of 401-ks have taken a beating this week. But, Republicans on Capitol HIll are gearing up to cut Social Security.
“In the coming hours, there could be further catastrophic events,” he said, according to Bloomberg News. That assessment was based on information from the European Union, the union’s mission in Tokyo, the International Atomic Energy Agency and media reports, he said.
“This spooked the markets,” an analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman, Marc Chandler, said.
In the close, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 242.12 points, or 2 percent. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost 24.99 points, or 1.95 percent, while the Nasdaq was off 50.51 points, or 1.89 percent.
