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8B Daily News – Saturday, September 10, 2011 MON.-FRI. 9:00-5:30 • SAT. 9:00 -5:00 • CLOSED SUNDAYS FURNITURE DEPOT MATTRESS NORTH VALLEY Counseling Center Giving Families Hope! Did you think we were just for children? • Individual & Family Counseling • Couple/Relationship Issues • Anger • Depression • Anxiety • Emotional Trauma • Family Relationships • Parenting Call our office for more info. 529-9454 Red Bluff 590 Antelope Blvd. Suite B-30 Corning Counseling Center 275 Solano Street #2 MON.-THURS. 9:00-6:00 • FRI. 9:00-7:00 • SAT. 9:00-5:00 • SUN. 11:00-5:00 235 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-1657 632 Main St., Red Bluff 527-5837 NEW YORK (AP) — The problems that have weighed on investors all summer — European debt and fear of a new recession in the United States — hammered the stock market Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 300 points. The plunge erased the week's gains for stocks and sent the Dow below 11,000. It had not closed below that level since Aug. 22, after several weeks of extraordi- nary volatility. The European Central Bank said a top official, Juergen Stark, was resign- ing almost three years before the end of his term in 2014, revealing deep dis- agreement over how to solve economic problems in Europe. Traders fear that one of the continent's heavily indebted economies could default, an event that would ripple through the global banking system and make it difficult for other European countries to borrow money. Such an outcome could tip the world economy back into recession. In the U.S., economic growth is already slowing, and unemploy- ment is stuck above 9 per- cent. Friday was also the first chance for the markets to Mattress Sets & Adjustable Bed Financing & Delivery Available • FREE pillows • FREE delivery • FREE disposal With purchase of Tempurpedic mattress sets only. Fear about Europe, US drags Dow down Wall Street react after President Barack Obama presented Congress and the nation a $447 bil- lion jobs program. It is not clear to traders that the plan will get through a bitterly divided Congress. The Dow finished down 304 points, or 2.7 percent, its steepest drop in more than three weeks. It closed at 10,992. The average approached a 400-point drop at some points in the afternoon. ''Markets always vacil- late between fear and greed, and today we're coming down pretty much all on the fear side,'' said Kim Caugh- ey Forrest, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. The Standard & Poor's 500 closed down 32, or 2.7 percent, at 1,154. The Nas- daq composite is down 61, or 2.4 percent, at 2,468. All three indexes finished down for the week. Investors drove the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 1.92 percent, its lowest since the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis began keeping daily records in 1962. The yield was 1.99 percent a day earlier. Wall Street traders have poured money into U.S. government debt all sum- mer, driving the price up and the yield, which moves in the opposite direction, down. Even after Congress nar- rowly met a deadline for raising the limit on how much the government can borrow, barely avoiding a default for the country, investors think U.S. govern- ment can be counted on to pay its bills. Word of the resignation of Stark, the top economist at the ECB, came shortly after U.S. markets opened. He was an advocate for higher interest rates, and published reports said he left because he opposed the bank's extensive purchases of debt issued by European countries. Stark's departure rattled traders because the U.S. economy is ''teetering on the verge of recession,'' and the outcome in Europe might determine which way it goes, said Andrew Goldberg, market strategist with J.P. Morgan Funds. He said traders are latch- ing onto any piece of news that might signal a positive or negative outcome in Europe. Banks in Europe hold bonds issued by nations deep in debt, including Greece, Ireland and Portu- gal, but investors don't know exactly how much each bank holds from each country. The value of the bonds would quickly diminish if one of those nations defaults. Banks might stop lending to each other because of fears that some would fail. Stark's departure was seen as ''a bit of news that contributes to a worse out- come, so if you're thinking of being a seller, today that's what you are,'' Gold- berg said. The central bank's trou- bles raise the stakes for a meeting this weekend in of financial leaders from the world's most developed economies. High volatility returned to the market Friday. One measure known as the VIX, which measures investors' fears, increased 18 percent. Friday's plunge extends a tough quarter for the stock market. The S&P 500 is down 13 percent since the third quarter started in July. However, it has recovered almost 4 percent since its lowest close this year Aug. 8. Analysts say stocks are likely to fall further as the crisis in Europe goes on. A shrinking European econo- my would hurt the U.S. because roughly a quarter of American companies' revenue comes from Europe, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist for S&P in New York. Today's Burning Issue Anyone Can Service Swamp Coolers....Can't They? Is it noisy? Do your doors swell from humidity? Does it leak on your roof? Have you ever had your cooler stop working in the middle of a heat wave? Residential and Commercial Evaporative coolers have been our business for over 25 years. Service, repairs, replacement and installations are handled professionally for reliable cool- ing during the hot days of summer. "You are nice. You came out right away. You solved the (cooler) problem. Your service is prompt, good, and pleasant." 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