Stocks slip as worries continue

Another mediocre day for stocks, Dow's down 32 while NAZ is down 8. Decliners outnumber advancers about 2-1 at NYSE. The Treasury bond is 3.89% and oil is near 88. Dow Chemical (DOW) announced it will cut 1000 jobs worldwide. Merck (MRK) reaffirmed it's optimistic outlook for next year but part of that is based on job cuts this year followed by more next year. The stock market is always waiting for more economic news but the FED meeting next week is probably drawing the most attention. The market assumes a rate cut is a given, the size is the only thing being debated. JPMorgan downgraded major Wall Street securities firms because of longer-term concerns about risk management hurting overall valuations. Big banks were included in this assessment. The market continues to drift (i.e. down).