Bernanke weighs on Wall StreetStocks fall Tuesday on Fed chairman Bernanke's comments of extended weakness in the U.S. economy, a day after the Dow and S&P 500 hit new records.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks sank in the first moments of trade Tuesday on bearish economic comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all sagged in early trade. The U.S. economy is set to grow at a sluggish pace in coming months on continued weakness in the housing sector, Bernanke said. Bernanke said housing weakness would be a bigger drag than had been expected. In corporate news, Avaya (Charts, Fortune 500), the maker of business communications equipment, agreed late Monday to be acquired by private-equity firms TPG Capital LLC and Silver Lake Partners for about $8.2 billion, or $17.50 per common share. That's a premium of 4.7 percent over Tuesday's close, but up 28 percent since reports of a possible purchased surfaced last week. Oil prices fell 79 cents to $65.42 a barrel as fears of a cyclone in the Persian Gulf recede. More on markets More on investing |
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