The stock market got hammered again today. The numbers are pretty staggering. The S&P 500 is now at its lowest level in 11 years. From its 2007 high, the S&P 500 is down by 52% which makes it the worst bear market since the Great Depression.

Citigroup dropped below $5 a share today. The bank wants the SEC to ban short-selling again, which must not be a good sign. There's more talk that Citi will merge or break up. Just recently, Citi talked about buying Wachovia with the government's help. They lost that battle, but there's no way Citi could make any major purchases today.

One of the few bright spots is the oil fell to a three-year low today. The price pre barrel is now under $50. Traders pay attention to these psychological barriers. There are now rumors that OPEC could cut production again before its meeting next month.

The housing crisis continues to take a toll on consumers. In previous economic slowdowns, consumers pulled the economy along. It's not happening this time. Lower gas prices will certainly help. Another boost came today from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The companies said they will suspend foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the holidays.

Speaking of consumers, Wall Street was shocked today by the report on initial jobless claims. Claims jumped 27,000 to reach 542,000 which was 37,000 over consensus. In my view, the next stop will be 600,000.

The other big news today came when Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill rejected the automakers request for a bailout. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money." The Democrats gave them until December 2 to show them a plan. Earlier, the Big 3 asked for $25 billion of the $700 billion in TARP money, but Hank Paulson was opposed to that idea. There's also talk of giving them some money so they can last until March after Obama takes office, and the new president can craft a long-term strategy.