U.S. Stocks Slide, Extend Weekly Drop, on Consumer, CIT Concern

By Rita Nazareth

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks tumbled the most since July after declines in personal spending and consumer confidence and the threat of a CIT Group Inc. bankruptcy raised concern over the durability of the economic recovery. The dollar and Treasuries gained, while commodities retreated.

CIT, the commercial lender, plunged 17 percent as investor Carl Icahn agreed to support its prepackaged bankruptcy plan. Citigroup Inc. tumbled on a report that banking analyst Mike Mayo predicted a $10 billion writedown for this quarter. American Express Co. and Walt Disney Co. slid as Commerce Department data showed a drop in purchases and the Reuters/University of Michigan sentiment index weakened. MetLife Inc. lost 7.6 percent after a third quarterly loss. FULL STORY