Stock Fall on Gloomy Outlooks from AXP, TIF, BBY

Stocks erased yesterday's gains as gloomy outlook's from American Express, and a number of retailers, increased concerns the U.S. economy will slip into recession. The Dow is lower by -157.45 points, the S&P 500 -9.20, and the Nasdaq Composite -27.25.

Bank of America (BAC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) agreeed to acquire troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (CFC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) for $4 billion in stock (read more). BAC shares are slightly higher, but CFC shares are down 14% today, after surging 52% yesterday when the news first broke.

American Express (AXP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) shares are lower by almost 10% after the company announced it will take a $440 million Q4 charge (read more).

Tiffany & Co. (TIF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported a 1% rise in December same-store sales, and a 8% rise in worldwide sales. However, the company lowered its full-year outlook (read more). TIF shares plunged on the news, currently down by more than 13%.

Best Buy (BBY | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported December same-store sales rose 1.5% and backed its full-year outlook (read more). BBY shares are currently lower by more than 4%.

Amazon.com (AMZN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) is down more than 1% after news the company lost a lawsuit brought by Basis Technology related to Amazon's business in Japan (read more).

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