Stocks are tumbling around the world on more signs of economic weakness. In the U.S., the government says more people filed for unemployment benefits last week than were expected. And there are signs that inflation is rising: Consumers paid more last month for gasoline, food and clothes. The Dow Jones industrial average at one point was down more than 500 points; as of midmorning it was down 436 at 10,973. All the major market indexes are down more than 4%. Asian markets started the worldwide drop. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.3% after the country said its exports fell 3.3% in July from a year earlier. Today’s drop in stocks marks a return to the volatility that sent markets plunging and rising repeatedly the first two weeks of August.
Stocks fall on worries about slower global economy
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