Is the Party Over?

After three weeks of gains, the Dow Jones lost 254 points today amid concerns about the futures of the U.S. auto and banking industries.

Although the stock markets were up — on balance — last week, stocks slid Friday as well. One has to wonder if the stock market can possibly regain enough ground the rest of this week to keep the weekly streak of gains alive.

In a speech this morning, Barack Obama said the auto industry "had reached a critical point and that its transformation would be a painful but necessary process," writes Jack Healy in the New York Times.

Obama, who never seems to be at a loss for words although his policies have yet to produce any fruit, said, "Year after year, decade after decade, we have seen problems papered over and tough choices kicked down the road, even as foreign competitors outpaced us. Well, we have reached the end of that road."

And it seems the vehicle that brought us to that point may have broken down.

We may learn more when the employment numbers for March are released in early April.