Wall Street Poised for Plunge Following Global Sell-Off

Wall Street looks like it's ready for a big plunge at opening in about 45 minutes, following a global chain reaction that began here last week.

Asian markets fell overnight, responding to last week's worse-than-expected consumer news from the U.S. In response, Wall Street is set for a sell-off following the drop in the Chinese, Japanese and other Asian markets.

The mood is so sour, the Asian markets seemed not even to notice the announcement this morning that Japan has emerged from its recession.

Wall Street futures point to a 150-point drop in the Dow at the opening bell.

As we reported here last week, consumer confidence has taken a step backward, as Americans face "three major hurdles," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co., said in an interview with us last week.

"They are paying down their debt, their houses are not worth as much as they were two years ago and they're staring down the barrel of 10 percent unemployment," Hogan said.

Translation: The recession may be bottoming, but this recovery is going to be long and bumpy.

-- Frank Ahrens
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