Oil sinks to $88; markets bet on Dec 11 rate cut
CBS News
Transcript
[Music] Wall Street will be watching the oil pits today. Crude sank nearly a dollar Tuesday to about $88 a barrel after a US report downplaying Iran's nuclear program eased geopolitical concerns. But it is likely to be a case of wait and see for investors today with the allimportant monthly jobs report due out Friday and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. Wall Street's all but certain of a rate cut at the December 11th meeting. It would be the third of the year. On Wall Street Tuesday, shares of financial companies once again led stocks lower on continued fears about the credit market. The Dow sank 65 points while the Nasdaq gave back 17. New legislation to spur changes in the credit card industry. At a hearing on Capitol Hill, lawmakers slammed the card issuers for hiking interest rates without warning, even if customers pay on time simply because their credit score has dropped. The industry says it has to tie interest rates to overall credit scores to help manage risk. And Southwest is the latest airline to clip its expansion plans because of worries about the economy and higher fuel prices. The lowcost carrier will slow its plan growth next year and will retire planes faster than it adds new ones to help boost profits. Rivals Delta and Continental are also scaling back plans to add more flights in 2008. That's your money watch. Log on to cbsnews.com for more. In New York, I'm Alexis Christopherus.