EQUITIES

Plunging stock prices in the wake of Standard & Poor's decision to strip the United States' top-tier AAA credit rating may threaten consumer confidence and could push the frail economy into recession.

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday in the heaviest volume since last year's flash crash, taking the S&P 500 down more than 6 percent on growing fears of a recession, in the first session after the historic loss of the country's pristine triple-A credit rating.

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday, racking up their biggest losses in almost three years as investors fled to the safety of gold and bonds after the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor's stoked fears the country is powerless to stop another recession.

Credit ratings for some of the main arteries of the U.S. financial system -- from clearing houses to government mortgage agencies -- were cut one notch to AA-plus by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's, still under fire for downgrading the United States late last week, Monday restated the reasons for its decision while rival Moody's set itself apart, saying America still has the characteristics of a AAA-rated country.

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday, taking the S&P 500 down more than 6 percent on growing fears of a recession, exacerbated by the loss of the country's pristine triple-A credit rating.

Stocks plunged on Monday, with the S&P down more than 6 percent for its largest drop in nearly three years on rising fears of a recession exacerbated by the United States' loss of its triple-A credit rating.

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday and investors fled to the safety of gold and bonds after the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor's stoked fears the United States is slipping into recession.

Standard & Poor's cut its ratings outlook on Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway to negative from stable on Monday, part of a broad action on 10 insurers linked to last Friday's downgrade of the United States credit rating.

U.S. stocks plunged on Monday as investors fled to the safety of gold and bonds the first trading day after Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States.

Stocks extended losses in heavy volume on Monday, with the S&P 500 down more than 6 percent, in the first session since Standard & Poor's cut the United States' top-tier AAA credit rating.

The fallout from Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States pushed world stocks to their lowest level in nearly a year on Monday and drove investors to the safety of gold and bonds.

Announcements should be expected this morning about more knock-on effects to corporations from S&P's decision to downgrade the United States' credit rating, the head of Standard & Poor's sovereign ratings said on Monday.

Investors fled stocks on Monday in the first session since Standard & Poor's cut the United States' perfect AAA credit rating, reflecting growing discouragement about the economic outlook and Washington's ability to meet the challenges.

Stocks tumbled in heavy volume on Monday, with more than 1,000 stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange hitting 52-week lows, after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the United States' perfect AAA credit rating, rattling already jittery investors.

Stocks tumbled on Monday, the first session after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the United States, further unnerving already-skittish investors.

Stocks tumbled on Monday, tracking a sharp drop in global equity markets after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the United States, rattling already-jittery investors.

Wall Street was set to track a sharp drop in global equity markets on Monday after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the United States, rattling already-jittery investors.

Stock index futures tracked a sharp drop in global equity markets on Monday after rating agency Standard & Poor's cut the top-tier AAA credit rating of the United States, rattling already-jittery investors.

A new global financial crisis would hit Asia harder than the last one, especially nations heavily exposed to offshore markets or still repairing budgets from the 2008-2009 crisis, credit ratings agency Standard and Poor's said on Monday.

U.S. assets fell sharply in early electronic trading on Sunday in response to a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor's, while the euro rose on expectations of further bond purchases by the European Central Bank to deal with the euro zone's debt crisis.

A downgrade of United States' top-tier credit rating has Wall Street scrambling to figure out the knock-on effects for the financial system, from mortgages to banks to markets that rely on U.S. Treasuries for collateral.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a powerful business lobby group, said on Sunday it disagreed with ratings agency Standard & Poor's decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating but hoped it would spur Washington to act.

Standard & Poor's managing director John Chambers said on Sunday there is a one in three chance of a further U.S. credit rating downgrade over the next six months to two years.

The head of Standard & Poor's sovereign ratings, David Beers told Fox News Sunday he did not expect that much impact when global markets open on Monday due to what he called a mild deterioration in the U.S. credit standing to AA-plus from top-tier AAA.

France's AAA rating is stable, ratings agency Standard and Poor's chief European economist Jean-Michel Six told France Inter radio on Sunday.

A top White House economic adviser slammed Standard & Poor's on Saturday for having stuck with its decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating despite having made a $2 trillion mistake in its fiscal projections.

The United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday in an unprecedented blow to the world's largest economy in the wake of a political battle that took the country to the brink of default.

The top official behind Standard & Poor's historic decision on Friday to downgrade the United States' prized triple-A credit rating said it was his company's duty to make such a hard and controversial call.