The Dow may have gotten ahead of itself, rising 40% since a low in March. But now it looks like an adjustment of the market to the grim reality of the global economy has set in with the Dow falling 200.72 points, or 2.4%, to 8,339.01 while the Nasdaq fell 61.28, or 3.4%, to 1,766.19. One indicator that spooked investors is a drop in commodity prices as the World Bank forecast that the global economy could shrink this year larger than expected. Dealflow was moderate.
Shares of E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:ETFC) finished down 7 cents, or 5.56%, to $1.19 as it will exchange more than $1 billion of newly issued zero-coupon convertible notes due 2019 for all of its 8% senior notes due 2011, along with a portion of other debt. Upon conversion, the new debentures allow holders to purchase E*Trade common shares for about $1.03 each for Class A notes, and $1.55 for Series B debt.
Meanwhile, shares of Finish Line Inc. (NASDAQ:FINL) rose 55 cents, or 7.97%, to $7.45 after the sporting goods retailer said it will sell its Man Alive business to Jimmy Jazz founder Jimmy Khezrie for about $7 million in cash
Lastly, shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) fell 61 cents, or 1.59%, to $37.74 as the company is nearing the closure of its $13.9 billion acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp. The deal is actually about two-thirds complete, according to an interview with David Gee, vice president of global marketing at EDS, in Australia's ITNews. - Gerald Magpily
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