Six-Figure Jobs You Don't Need a College Degree For

14 Ways to Get to Six Figures Without Doing Four Years First

Maybe you don't want to spend all that time taking classes in obscure subjects while hoping to find your calling and piling up student loan debt. Maybe you don't really care so much about college. You just want to work and make money.

You can do it, but there aren't many fields where it happens very often. In our list (see below) of 14 potentially six-figure jobs that don't require a four-year diploma, only two have a median wage of above $100,000. For the rest, you'll have to be in the top 10% of earners, and even then you may find yourself working 50 to 60 hours a week.

Dr. Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at Payscale.com, says that most of these jobs share a few qualities. (Payscale's research provided the numbers that made this list possible. The company measured the average earnings for people with eight or more years in their field.)

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* In Depth: Jobs That Can Earn More Than $100,000 Without College
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No test can tell an employer how good you might be at some of these lines of work -- real estate broker or fashion designer, for example. That's why a degree is less important to a potential employer than field experience and demonstrated past success. Either you're good at it or you're not.

Many of these jobs rely on variable pay (commission and overtime) to break six figures. Good plumbers, ultrasound techs and construction managers generally do a lot of overtime. It's far more valuable to a company to pay them extra than to hire an additional employee, Lee says. And that means workers can break past what they would earn if confined to 40 hours a week.

Stress is pretty much a given in all these occupations. A high price for failure is not uncommon. Cost estimators can't estimate too high on a project or they'll risk losing it to a competitive bidder. They can't go too low or their company won't make money on the deal. Radiation therapists and ultrasound technologists have to worry about the danger of malpractice suits. Court reporters mustn't miss a word in the courtroom. Air traffic controllers know that hundreds of lives ride on their actions.

Almost all these positions produce revenue that can give them a clearly defined monetary value. An executive chef at a hotel can pull in guests or send them fleeing. An ultrasound technologist or radiation therapist paid $100,000 a year can bring the hospital several times that. A sales manager's value can often be pinpointed in dollars and cents at the end of the year. Also, a few of these jobs -- air traffic controller, police supervisor, court reporter -- have unions to thank for their good pay.

Lee says now is as good a time as any to start on the path to one of these jobs. The market may be in bad shape, but companies will still need competent workers. When better to find out if you're truly good at something than when it's most difficult?

He says of people who make more than $100,000, "At the end of the day, the largest percentage of them are degree-holders." But you definitely can get there this way -- not that it's easy. "You learn on the job. You pay attention. You move your way up."

Could it be time to design your five- or 10-year path to six figures? Below is a list of 14 options for possible six-figure jobs without a degree.


1. Real Estate Broker
2. Air Traffic Controller
3. Small Business Owner/Operator
4. Fashion Designer
5. Plumber, Pipe Fitter or Steamfitter
6. Non-Retail Sales Manager
7. Network/Data Communications Manager
8. Construction Superintendent/Manager
9. Radiation Therapist
10. Police and Detective Supervisor
11. Ultrasound Technologist
12. Hotel Executive Chef
13. Court Reporter
14. Construction Cost Estimator

In Depth: The 14 Jobs That Can Earn More Than $100,000 Without College

Stocks up after GMAC lifeline, retail sales dip

NEW YORK — Wall Street put together a moderate advance in light post-holiday trading Friday after the finance arm of General Motors got a government lifeline, but dreary holiday spending readings dimmed the chance of a big year-end rally. The major indexes finished the week with losses.

Not surprisingly, Americans spent much less on gifts this season than they did last year, according to SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors. Retail sales dropped between 5.5 percent and 8 percent compared with last year, the data showed, or between 2 percent and 4 percent after stripping out auto and gas sales.

Personal consumption is a huge part of US economic activity — comprising more than two-thirds of gross domestic product — so Wall Street is nervous that a more frugal consumer could keep the economy weak in 2009.

Investors did get a some good news on Christmas Eve, when the Federal Reserve allowed GMAC Financial Services — the finance arm of struggling Detroit automaker General Motors Corp. — to become a bank holding company and thus qualify for the government's $700 billion rescue fund. Analysts had said that without financial help, GMAC might have had to file for bankruptcy protection or shut down.

There was little conviction behind the advance, which the market managed after stocks meandered for much of the session. With just three full trading days left in the year, no news has been upbeat enough to spark a big year-end rally, a consequence of the great uncertainty still in the market. December is usually a strong month for stocks, and a flurry of trading known as a "Santa Claus rally" is often seen in the final week.

"I think we could have a year-end rally, but it's got a formidable headwind in the form of tax-selling, in my view," said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors.

Tax-loss selling is when investors sell their poorly-performing stocks to realize a loss for the year, which can reduce their taxes in upcoming years.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 47.07, or 0.56 percent, to 8,515.55 after Thursday's market holiday.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.65, or 0.54 percent, to 872.80, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.34, or 0.35 percent, to 1,530.24. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.28, or 1.33 percent, to 476.77.

For the week, the Dow ended down 0.74 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq lost 2.1 percent.

As the year winds down, investors are flummoxed over what 2009 might bring. Some market analysts are predicting a stock market recovery, and others are predicting more volatility; but nearly all are doing so with the caveat that anything is possible.

"It's hard to imagine another year that is going to be as dismal or dark or bad as 2008," Johnson said. "It's even hard to imagine that we have another down year in 2009 — the odds are the stock market will be higher at the end of 2009. Common sense tells you that."

The Dow is down 35.8 percent for the year.

But, Johnson added, it's impossible to forecast the end of a bear market, and "confidence can turn on a dime."

On Friday, the dollar was down against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Demand for government bonds increased. The three-month Treasury bill's yield fell to 0.01 percent from 0.02 percent late Wednesday, and the 10-year Treasury note's yield fell to 2.14 percent from 2.19 percent.

Light, sweet crude rose $2.36 to $37.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices had tumbled Wednesday for the ninth straight day — dipping as low as $35.13 — after gloomy economic reports and growing stockpiles of unused gasoline suggesting eroded demand.

GMAC notes shot higher on the news of the company's transformation into a bank. GMAC's 7.25 percent note due to mature in 2033 rose 88.5 percent to $9.67 from $5.13 on Wednesday. But analysts were wary of the big price move, noting that volume was thin, and saying there is still much to be resolved about the company's finances. - AP

Indian navy destroys pirate boat, more ships taken

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – An Indian warship destroyed a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden and gunmen from Somalia seized two more vessels despite a large international naval presence off their lawless country.

The buccaneers have taken a Thai fishing boat, a Greek bulk carrier and a Hong Kong-flagged ship heading to Iran since Saturday's spectacular capture of a Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million of oil, the biggest ship hijacked in history.

The explosion of piracy off Somalia this year has driven up insurance costs, made some shipping companies divert around South Africa and prompted an unprecedented military response from NATO, the European Union and others.

"The pirates are sending out a message to the world that 'we can do what we want, we can think the unthinkable, do the unexpected'," Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, told Reuters in Mombasa.

India's navy said one of its warships, INS Tabar, fought Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden and destroyed their vessel after a brief battle late Tuesday.

"Fire broke out on the vessel and explosions were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored on the vessel," the navy said, adding that two speed boats sped away.

The International Maritime Bureau said pirates from the Horn of Africa nation had hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew. That followed the capture of a Hong Kong-flagged ship carrying grain bound for Iran.

Mwangura's group said a Greek bulk carrier had also been seized, but an official at Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry told Reuters in Athens that no such incident had been recorded.

The sharp increase in attacks at sea this year off the poor and chaotic country has been fueled by a growing Islamist insurgency onshore -- gun battles broke out again in Mogadishu Wednesday -- and the lure of multi-million-dollar ransoms.

Somalia's Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein told Reuters naval patrols would not stop piracy and appealed for more help to tackle criminal networks with links beyond his country.

No ransom has been demanded so far for the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, which the pirates seized after dodging international naval patrols in their boldest strike yet.

A spokesman for the owners, Saudi Aramco, said the company hoped to hear from the hijackers later Wednesday. One Somali website said the attackers were demanding $250 million.

The Sirius Star was seized 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, far beyond the gangs' usual area of operations. It was believed to be anchored near Eyl, a former Somali fishing village that is now a well-defended pirate base.

TANKER SPOTTED

"Eyl residents told me they could see the lights of a big ship far out at sea that seems to be the tanker," Aweys Ali, chairman of Somalia's Galkayo region, told Reuters by telephone.

Local officials said it had been sighted further south on Tuesday near Haradheere, in Mudug central region.

The Sirius held as much as 2 million barrels of oil, more than a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily exports, and had been heading for the United States via the Cape of Good Hope.

More of the world's big shipping firms are diverting their fleets via the Cape, experts say. But there is little evidence that big oil tanker firms carrying most of the world's crude are avoiding the Suez Canal, although many are expressing deep disquiet about Somali pirate activity.

Somali gunmen are believed to be holding about a dozen ships in the Eyl area and more than 200 hostages. Among those vessels is a Ukrainian ship loaded with 33 tanks and other weapons that was captured in another high-profile strike earlier this year.

Chinese state media said Wednesday a Hong Kong cargo ship taken in September had been freed and all 25 crew were safe.

The Sirius Star was seized despite an international naval effort, including by NATO, to guard one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Warships from the United States, France, Russia and India are stationed off Somalia.

But experts say deep pessimism over the prospects of any peace process onshore, bitter memories of disastrous past interventions, and the need to put out fires elsewhere -- from Afghanistan to Congo -- have snuffed out any real will to act.

"There are no discussions in NATO on dealing with what is the root cause -- which is political instability," an alliance spokesman said of the Islamist insurgency.

Given that the pirates are well armed with grenades, heavy machineguns and rocket-launchers, most foreign navies have steered clear of direct confrontation once ships have been hijacked, for fear of putting hostages at risk. In most cases, the owners of hijacked ships are trying to negotiate ransoms.

British Royal Navy Commodore Keith Winstanley, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East, said coalition forces could not be everywhere.

"The pirates will go somewhere we are not," he told shipping weekly Fairplay, part of Jane's Information Group. "If we patrol the Gulf of Aden then they will go to Mogadishu. If we go to Mogadishu, they will go to the Gulf of Aden."

Basics of Starting a Home Bases Business

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5. Set up a separate bank account for the business. This will help you stay track of business revenue and expenses.

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Yang 'disappointed' after Google deal collapses

Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo. Photograph: Frank Baron Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang says he felt let down by Google's decision to pull out of a controversial advertising agreement between the two internet rivals. The $800m deal – which would have enabled Google to sell advertising on some parts of Yahoo's search engine listings - had been subject to a over potential antitrust concerns. However, despite recently renegotiating some of the terms to allay fears, Google that it would pull the...source

European markets drop after Nikkei slump

LONDON - European stock markets were lower Thursday after Japan's Nikkei tumbled more than 11 percent overnight amid mounting anxiety that the world economy is plunging into a deep and protracted recession.
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The latest bout of selling in the markets was stoked by a record percentage fall on Wall Street Wednesday after weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data and a downbeat assessment from the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that the world's largest economy is already, or about to fall, into recession.

"Once again a market rally is brought to a juddering halt by dramatic falls across global markets," said Matt Buckland, a dealer at CMC Markets.

"The persistent fear of a global recession shrugged off the cheer about banking rescue plans in the previous session with the Dow down 7.9 percent and the S&P500 off 9 percent, their worst one-day percentage falls since 1987, as U.S. retail sales were weaker than expected and the Fed's Beige Book showed weakening economic activity across the country," he added.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 114.03 points, or 2.8 percent, at 3,965.56, while Germany's DAX was 121.13 points, or 2.5 percent, down at 4,750.50. The CAC-40 in France was 113.04 points lower, at 3.3 percent, at 3,268.03.

The renewed selling means that the world's stock markets are more or less back where they were at the start of the week, before they breathed a sigh of relief on the unveiling of a series of bank rescue packages from governments around the world to restore confidence.

The Swiss government Thursday became the latest to announce its plans to support its banking system with billions of dollars. The main recipient will be UBS AG, which is being offered up to $54 billion so that it can part with securities that have gone bad since the start of the worldwide financial crisis. Credit Suisse said it had also been offered government assistance but would not make use of it at this time, choosing instead to raise about 10 billion Swiss francs ($8.75 billion) on the open market.

On Tuesday, the U.S. government followed Europe's lead and announced it is to pump some US250 billion into shares of its leading banks as part of the $700 billion package passed by Congress earlier this month.

The U.S. plan was criticized overnight for being insufficient by Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. He blamed the renewed drop in markets on an "insufficient" U.S. bailout plan totaling $700 billion. "Since it was insufficient, the market is again falling sharply," Aso told lawmakers.

The long-term key is whether the flurry of activity by governments can actually break the logjam in credit markets. Despite the coordinated interest rate reductions announced last week, and massive liquidity boosts, the rates at which banks lend remain abnormally high, despite some easing in rates and spreads this week. That could in turn make it harder for businesses and consumers to get the credit they need and hurt the economy.

The Hong Kong interbank offered rate, known as Hibor, for three-month loans actually ticked up slightly overnight to 4.35 percent after easing the past couple of days.

Though the rescue packages have helped alleviate the pressures on the banking system, they will do nothing to prevent a serious economic slowdown. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned in a speech Wednesday that patching up the credit markets won't provide an instantaneous jolt to the economy.

"Everyone is very worried about the economy in the U.S and around the world," said Jacky Choi, a Hong Kong-based fund manager at Value Partners Ltd., which manages about $5 billion in Asia.

Concerns about the global economic outlook are clear also in the price of oil, which has fallen another $1.88 to $72.66, a new 13-month low.

Commodity stocks are also in retreat after Rio Tinto PLC, one of the world's biggest mining giants, warned of slowing raw material demand from China, the world's biggest growth engine over the last few years. "The Chinese economy is pausing for breath after spectacular GDP growth," the company's chief executive Tom Albanese said.

Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average slid 1,089.02 points, or 11.41 percent, to 8,458.45, its biggest drop since the 1987 stock market crash.

In South Korea, the main index dropped 9.25 percent after Standard & Poor's said it may downgrade the credit ratings of some of the country's leading banks. The ratings agency warned the credit crisis could make it difficult for the companies to refinance maturing debt.

And Hong Kong's key index trimmed losses, closing down 4.8 percent after falling more than 8 percent earlier. Australia's main share index fell 6.7 percent while India's was down 4 percent.

The panic selling in Asia hit many sectors. Export-linked shares such as top Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp., which was off 9.3 percent, retreated on worries about declining U.S. demand.

Resource firms slumped along with global commodity prices, with BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, losing 13 percent. In financials, KB Financial Group Inc., the holding company for top South Korean lender Kookmin Bank, lost almost 15 percent.

Meanwhile, insurance policies against companies failing to make good on their debt, known as credit default swaps, were more expensive — a signal that firms believe the risk of default is growing.

The U.S. dollar edged up to 100.43 yen, while the euro rose to $1.3473. source

US Navy: Pirates haven't destroyed Ukrainian ship

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The U.S. Navy says Somali pirates have not followed through with their threat to blow up an arms-laden Ukrainian ship they hijacked.
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Lt. Stephanie Murdock, a spokeswoman for the 5th Fleet in Bahrain, confirms the vessel, with a 20-member crew and a cargo of heavy weapons, is still in one piece.

Murdock says American warships continue to monitor the vessel docked near the Somali port of Hobyo.

The pirates had threatened to destroy MV Faina by early Tuesday unless ransom is paid.

A spokesman for the pirates said Monday they were considering extending the deadline on the threat. They have held the ship and its crew hostage for almost three weeks. source

US 'casino' mentality blamed for planet's meltdown

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Astounded by the U.S. government's failure to resolve the financial crisis threatening the foundations of the global free market, fingers of blame are pointing at America from around the planet.
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Latin American leaders say the U.S. must quickly fix the financial crisis it created before the rest of the world's hard-won economic gains are lost.

"The managers of big business took huge risks out of greed," said President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, whose economy is highly dependent on U.S. trade. "What happens in the United States will affect the entire world and, above all, small countries like ours."

In Europe, where some blame a phenomenon of "casino capitalism" that has become deeply engrained from New York to London to Moscow, there is more of a sense of shared responsibility. But Europeans also blame the U.S. government for letting things get out of hand.

Amid harsh criticism is a growing consensus that stricter financial regulation is needed to prevent unfettered capitalism from destroying economies around the globe.

And leaders of developing nations that kept spending tight and opened their economies in response to American demands are warning of other consequences — a loss of U.S. influence globally and the likelihood that the world's poor will suffer the most from greed by the biggest players in global finance.

"They spent the last three decades saying we needed to do our chores. They didn't," a grim-faced Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday.

Even staunch U.S. allies like Colombian President Alvaro Uribe blasted the world's most powerful country for egging on uncontrolled financial speculation that he compared to a wild horse with no reins.

"The whole world has financed the United States, and I believe that they have a reciprocal debt with the planet," he said.

It's harder for European leaders to point the finger directly at the United States since many of their financiers participated in the recklessness. London was home to the division of failed insurer AIG that racked up huge losses on credit-default swaps, and many reputable European banks disregarded risk to load up on higher yielding subprime assets.

But the House's rejection Monday of the U.S. bank bailout proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson provoked a sharper tone and warnings that America must act. Though global markets on Tuesday recovered some of the ground they lost in a worldwide slide the day before, politicians from Europe to South America insisted the risk of a further plunge remains high.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on U.S. lawmakers to pass a package this week, saying it was the "precondition for creating new confidence on the markets — and that is of incredibly great significance."

In an unusually blunt statement from the 27-country European Union, EU Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said: "The United States must take its responsibility in this situation, must show statesmanship for the sake of their own country, and for the sake of the world."

The crisis also has strengthened voices in France and Germany calling for EU regulations to eliminate highly deregulated financial markets, despite objections from Britain, which along with the U.S. is considered by some to practice a freer form of "Anglo-Saxon" capitalism.

"This crisis underlines the excesses and uncertainties of a casino capitalism that has only one logic — lining your pockets," said German lawmaker Martin Schulz, chairman of the Socialists in the EU assembly. "It also shows the bankruptcy of 'law of the jungle' capitalism that no longer invests in companies and job creation, but instead makes money out of money in a totally uncontrolled way."

The U.S. government's failure to apply rules that might have prevented the crisis is seen as a betrayal in many developing countries that faced intense U.S. pressures to liberalize their economies. In some developing nations, state enterprises were privatized, currencies were allowed to float against the U.S. dollar and painful measures were taken to bring down debts.

These advances are at risk now that credit is drying up. Countries with commodities-based economies are particularly vulnerable since more industrialized nations could reduce their demand for everything from soy to iron ore.

"It doesn't seem fair to me that those of us who endured so much hunger in the 20th century, who began to improve in the 21st century, should have to suffer due to the international financial system," Silva said. "There are going to be a lot of people going hungry in the world."

Just before meeting with Silva on Tuesday, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said he believes a new economic order is in store for the planet.

"What's to blame? Imperialism, the United States, the irresponsibility of the United States government," said the self-avowed socialist and frequent U.S. critic. "From this crisis, a new world has to emerge, and it's a multi-polar world."

China's influence in the outcome of all this could be profound because it is a huge investor in U.S. debt. It is already calling for strict new international regulatory systems to apply to globalized financial markets.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission, said Saturday before a weeklong bank holiday in China that debt in the United States and elsewhere has risen to dangerous and indefensible levels.

The rest of the world is taking notice. Many newspapers made references Tuesday to China's increasing importance in global finance. In Algeria, a large cartoon on the front page of the newspaper El-Watan showed Uncle Sam at prayer: "Save us!" he says, kneeling before a portrait of China's Mao Zedong.

In London, Jane Ayerson, a 20-year-old Irish exchange student, said Europeans share the blame.

"The problem started with America, but banks here have been greedy, too," she said. source

Dow plummets record 777 as financial rescue fails

NEW YORK - The failure of the bailout package in Congress literally dropped jaws on Wall Street and triggered a historic selloff — including a terrifying decline of nearly 500 points in mere minutes as the vote took place, the closest thing to panic the stock market has seen in years.
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The Dow Jones industrial average lost 777 points Monday, its biggest single-day fall ever, easily beating the 684 points it lost on the first day of trading after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

As uncertainty gripped investors, the credit markets, which provide the day-to-day lending that powers business in the United States, froze up even further.

At the New York Stock Exchange, traders watched with faces tense and mouths agape as TV screens showed the House vote rejecting the Bush administration's $700 billion plan to buy up bad debt and shore up the financial industry.

Activity on the trading floor became frenetic as the "sell" orders blew in. The selling was so intense that just 162 stocks on the Big Board rose, while 3,073 dropped.

The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index recorded a paper loss of $1 trillion across the market for the day, a first.

The Dow industrials, which were down 210 points at 1:30 p.m. EDT, nose-dived as traders on Wall Street and investors across the country saw "no" votes piling up on live TV feeds of the House vote.

By 1:42 p.m., the decline was 292 points. Then the bottom fell out. Within five minutes, the index was down about 700 points as it became clear the bill was doomed.

"How could this have happened? Is there such a disconnect on Capitol Hill? This becomes a problem because Wall Street is very uncomfortable with uncertainty," said Gordon Charlop, managing director with Rosenblatt Securities.

"The bailout not going through sends a signal that Congress isn't willing to do their part," he added.

While investors didn't believe that the plan was a cure-all and it could take months for its effects to be felt, most market watchers believed it was at least a start toward setting the economy right and unlocking credit.

"Clearly something needs to be done, and the market dropping 400 points in 10 minutes is telling you that," said Chris Johnson, president of Johnson Research Group. "This isn't a market for the timid."

Before trading even began came word that Wachovia Corp., one of the biggest banks to struggle from rising mortgage losses, was being rescued in a buyout by Citigroup Inc.

That followed the recent forced sale of Merrill Lynch & Co. and the failure of three other huge banking companies — Bear Stearns Cos., Washington Mutual Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., all of them felled by bad mortgage investments.

And it raised the question: Which banks are next, and how many? The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. lists more than 110 banks in trouble in the second quarter, and the number has probably grown since.

Wall Street is contending with all of it against the backdrop of a credit market — where bonds and loans are bought and sold — that is barely functioning because of fears that anyone lending money will never be paid back.

More evidence could be found Monday in the Treasury's three-month bill, where investors were stashing money, willing to accept the tiniest of returns simply to be sure that their principal would survive. The yield on the three-month bill was 0.15 percent, down from 0.87 percent and approaching zero, a level reached last week when fear was also running high.

Analysts said the government needs to find a way to help restore confidence in the markets.

"It's probably fair to say that we are not going to see any significant stability in the credit markets or the stock market until we see some sort of rescue package passed," said Fred Dickson, director of retail research for D.A. Davidson & Co.

The bailout bill failed 228-205 in the House, and Democratic leaders said the House would reconvene Thursday in hopes of a quick vote on a revised bill.

"We need to put something back together that works," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. "We need it as soon as possible."

The Dow fell 777.68 points, just shy of 7 percent, to 10,365.45, its lowest close in nearly three years. The decline also surpasses the record for the biggest decline during a trading day — 721.56 at one point on Sept. 17, 2001, when the market reopened after 9/11.

In percentage terms, it was only the 17th-biggest decline for the Dow, far less severe than the 20-plus-percent drops seen on Black Monday in 1987 and before the Great Depression.

Broader stock indicators also plummeted. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 106.62, or nearly 9 percent, to 1,106.39. It was the S&P's largest-ever point drop and its biggest percentage loss since the week after the October 1987 crash.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 199.61, more than 9 percent, to 1,983.73, its third-worst percentage decline. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 47.07, or 6.7 percent, to 657.72.

A huge drop in oil prices was another sign of the economic chaos that investors fear. Light, sweet crude fell $10.52 to settle at $96.36 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors feared energy demand would continue to slide amid further economic weakness. And gold, where investors flock when they need a relatively secure investment, rose $23.20 to $911.70 on the Nymex.

Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald, said investors are worried about the spread of troubles beyond banks in the U.S. to Europe and other markets.

"Things are dying and breaking apart," he said.

The federal Office of Thrift Supervision, one of the government's banking regulators, indicated that the market was overreacting to the House vote and that its fears about the financial system are misplaced.

"There is an irrational financial panic taking place today, and we support and applaud the continuing efforts of Secretary Paulson and congressional leadership to restore liquidity and public confidence," John Reich, Director of the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, said in a statement.

The plan would have placed caps on pay packages of top executives that accepted help from the government, and included assurances the government would ultimately be reimbursed by the companies for any losses.

The Treasury would have been permitted to spend $250 billion to buy banks' risky assets, giving them a much-needed cash infusion. There also would be another $100 billion for use at the president's discretion and a final $350 billion if Congress signs off.

But Wall Street found further reason for worry overseas. Three European governments agreed to a $16.4 billion bailout for Fortis NV, Belgium's largest retail bank, and the British government said it was nationalizing mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, which has a $91 billion mortgage and loan portfolio. It was the latest sign that the credit crisis has spread beyond the U.S. source

Wachovia bank in talks to be bought

Wachovia Corp is in talks with rivals to be taken over, sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday, after the U.S. bank's shares fell 27 percent on Friday due to ongoing concerns about its portfolio of illiquid mortgage assets.
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Citigroup Inc is among the parties in talks with Wachovia, the two sources said, and one source said Wells Fargo & Co was also in discussions.

The New York Times said the two companies were locked in a bidding war for a possible takeover of Wachovia, citing people involved in the talks. The U.S. government, led by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department, is also involved in the talks, the newspaper said.

The government is resisting guaranteeing some of Wachovia's assets, as it did for Bear Stearns when it engineered that company's sale to JPMorgan Chase & Co, and is also opposed to taking over Wachovia unless its financial position deteriorates more rapidly.

Talks could go past Sunday night, the newspaper said.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo are unlikely to bid more than a few dollars a share for Wachovia, whose shares closed Friday at $10, the newspaper said. It is unclear whether Wachovia would be sold as a whole or be broken up, or how much Wachovia bondholders might lose in any transaction, it said.

A Wachovia spokeswoman declined to comment. Citigroup and Wells Fargo could not be immediately reached for comment.

Investor concern about Wachovia mounted Friday after JPMorgan said it would take a $31 billion write-down on loans it acquired when it took over Washington Mutual Inc's banking unit on Thursday.

The write-down raised worry that Wachovia might have to take much larger write-downs on a $122 billion portfolio of option adjustable-rate mortgages it largely inherited when it bought California lender Golden West Financial Corp in 2006.,source

Memories of killer 1900 storm haunt Galveston ahead of Ike

GALVESTON, Texas (AFP) - Residents here are warily following the progress of Hurricane Ike -- currently bearing down on the Texas Gulf coast -- mindful of the anniversary this month of a storm that devastated the island city in 1900. ADVERTISEMENT Galveston's history of barely surviving the "Great Storm" of 1900 makes residents inclined to prepare for the worst. The 1900 hurricane produced a storm surge that submerged Galveston and killed 6,000 people. News reports and letters written at the time told of bodies washing ashore and stacking up on the beach like driftwood, then attracting clouds of black flies. With food and water in short supply, vigilantes shot and lynched looters and those suspected of looting. "For those of us who had relatives who survived the Great Storm and heard the stories and saw the photographs -- we are very aware of the lessons learned," said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas. "It informs and has led to a high level of preparedness here even today," said Thomas, whose grandparents lived through the 1900 storm. City officials have already been testing back-up generators and mobilizing police to patrol evacuation routes. The Port of Galveston has been helping its tenants, which include Del Monte Fresh Produce, ADM Grain and Holcim Cement, to move cargo inland and secure loose items that could become projectiles in hurricane force winds. The port is also home to several ship and offshore rig repair yards. Preparations for the hurricane started early, said Steven Cernak, the Port of Galveston's director and CEO. "We don't want any hiccups." The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the city's largest employer, also begun disaster preparations. The university has stockpiled dry ice, and every department has been warned they might have to lock down research sites, postpone surgeries and ready patients for evacuation. "It's not only the memory of the Great Storm but what happened after Katrina," said UTMB spokesperson Marsha Canright. "We had a number of doctors and nurses who went to New Orleans and saw what happened to the medical facilities there and that is just not going to happen here." Galveston also has a 90-day cash reserve to begin recovery efforts immediately after a storm rather than having to wait like New Orleans for the federal government to release funds. The city was also able to push through a state law that allows it to borrow up to 20 million dollars to rebuild without a voter referendum. Additionally, Galveston has contracted with private companies like Home Depot and Wal-Mart to bring in provisions and building supplies after a hurricane. Carnival Cruise line has also committed to provide one of its passenger ships in the event it is needed for emergency housing. "Because of The Great Storm we have a great respect for the devastation a hurricane can bring," said Gina Spagnola, president of the Galveston Chamber of Commerce. "We're constantly looking at how we can be more prepared." The Chamber has published an extensive guide on things businesses should do ahead of a storm, like backing up data files and storing them off-site. During hurricane season Galveston residents tend to keep their gas tanks full in case they need to quickly evacuate and their cupboards stocked with water, food, candles and batteries. Among them is Shrub Kempner, an investment manager and native islander whose ancestors weathered the 1900 hurricane. "Memories are long here and that makes us take storms very seriously," he said.