Dow Jones tumbles over 300 points for second time this week, gold skyrockets

Following a decline in the European stock market overnight spurred by the questionable health of European banks, the Dow Jones will likely close under 16,000 points for the second day in a row because of a drop of over 300 points, or 2.1%, at midday.

Since investors are looking for safe places to put their money in times of economic downturn, the price of gold skyrocketed by over 5% today.

Fears of recession have not been helped by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s comments that negative interest rates at the U.S. central bank might be a possibility.

Before Congress she said that banks should prepare for negative interest rates, “just in case.”

Columbus companies are feeling the heat, with Huntington falling 4.3%, Cardinal Health 1.2%, and American Electric Power 1.9%. However, Limited Brands stayed about even, with a 0.02% growth.

Energy stocks and major tech companies Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google took a nose dive Monday morning, sending a ripple through the rest of the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 350 points earlier today, taking it below 16,000 for the first time since January. Meanwhile, gold is soaring.

Central to the energy crash was oil and gas company Chesapeake Energy, whose stock price fell over 40% amidst rumors the company was pursuing bankruptcy.

As for Columbus companies, unfortunately none of them got away unscathed, but they’re not faring as badly as some.

As of lunchtime, Huntington fell 2.3%, Cardinal Health fell 1.4%, Limited Brands fell 3.8%, and American Electric Power fell 0.8%.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY