Dow plunges 238 on recession fears; Countrywide denies bankruptcy

CBS

Transcript

[Music] a late day selloff on Wall Street as fears of a recession had investors heading for the exits the Dow plunged 238 points while the NASDAQ tumbled 59 more bad news on the housing front only made matters worse on Wall Street a trade group says pending home sales fell 2.6% in November the toughest place to sell a home was in the Northeast the group doesn't predict any Improvement until later this year and the housing recession continues to hammer home builders KB Home lost nearly $773 Million last quarter because of weak sales and predicts another tough year ahead shares of countrywide financials suffered their worst drop in 20 years even after the mortgage lender denied rumors that it's filing for bankruptcy Countrywide stock tanked 80% last year after it lost over a billion due to the subprime mortgage mess and those record oil prices are making their way to the pump the government now predicts gas prices will peak near a nationwide average of 350 a gallon this spring and average over $3 for the year that's your money watch log on to cbsnews.com for more in New York I'm Alexis christopherus

Starbucks fires CEO, returns Howard Schultz to helm

CBS News

Transcript

[Music] Changes at the top for Starbucks. The coffee giant fired its CEO, giving that top slot back to chairman Howard Schultz, who served as the head of Starbucks from 1987 through 2000. Schultz plans to slow the number of new US stores and close some struggling locations. He'll also accelerate the chain's expansion overseas. Growing fear of a possible recession has investors wary and after searching for direction for much of the day Monday, stocks finished mixed. The Dow gained 27 but is down about 3% so far in this new year. The Nasdaq lost five. It is down 6% for the year. They'll also be waiting for the latest news on pending home sales and consumer credit. Experts are predicting another bad year for business travelers. A weaker US economy is expected to slow demand for air travel in 2008. That together with soaring fuel prices is expected to lead to higher airfares with business fairs expected to jump as much as 10%. Well, it may sound like science fiction, but General Motors is set to unveil a car that drives itself at the Consumer Electronic Show today. The prototype, the driverless Chevy Tahoe, can drive itself in controlled settings. It'll be set for the road in 2018. GM says the technology will make the roads safer, reducing the roughly 42,000 traffic deaths that occur each year, 95% of which are caused by human mistakes. That's your money watch. Log on to cbsnews.com for the latest business headlines in New York. I'm Alexis Christopherus.