Stocks Dive At Opening

Was the Black Friday retail bump not enough?

Is it the bleak economic data due out today -- expected continued downturns in manufacturing and construction spending?

Or is the market just trying to find its own bottom?

Whatever the reason, Wall Street dove in early trading this morning.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow is down about 285 points, or more than 3 percent.

The S&P and the Nasdaq are both down more than 3 percent.

A money manager speaking on CNBC moments ago referred to our current situation as "an economic Pearl Harbor." Sheesh.

We'll listen to what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has to say in a Dallas speech today, where he can lay some groundwork for the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in two weeks, which could employ some more levers on the struggling economy.

At about 10:30 a.m., President-elect Barack Obama is scheduled to announce his national security team, so we'll see what effect that has on the market.

-- Frank Ahrens
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