Market plunges more than 200 points as economic worries mount

A weaker-than-expected jobs report along with statements by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that the current market turmoil was identical to previous ones has sent the stock market into a tailspin today, pushing down the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 200 points.

Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Bear Stearns Cos. (NYSE: BSC), which like other financial stocks have been hit hard because of subprime concerns and the ongoing credit crunch. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) all dropped as well showing how difficult safe havens are to find.

The wild swings in the market will continue for some time as investors continue to fret over whether Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will cut interest rates later this month. So far, Bernanke has sent the market mixed signals, indicating at best that he's monitoring the situation closely and hinting that he'd like to avoid cutting interest rates if possible.

In fact, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson told Bloomberg Television that the decline in payrolls wasn't "totally surprising" and said he was confident that the economy would expand in the second half of the year. That doesn't sound like someone who feels that a rate cut is needed immediately.

With a lame-duck administration, there is little incentive for officials in Washington to stick out their necks to do much of anything.

Fear, uncertainty and doubt will rule the day for a while more, it seems.