Dow Plunges 680 Points as Recession Is Declared

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

December 1, 2008
 
December blew in with a mighty chill on Wall Street.

In six and a half hours on Monday, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined nearly 9 percent - the type of collapse that, historically, has taken years to occur. But in 2008, a year that has now been officially declared to be in recession, the drop registered with a resigned sense that, yes, this awful year still has yet another month to go.

The sell-off, which erased nearly all the gains enjoyed by the stock market in Thanksgiving week, came as investors flocked to the safety of government notes, driving their yields to near record lows as concern mounted that the economy could get much worse before it improves... .