Monday Wrap-Up:

Our DOW lost over 600 points. From ABCNews.com:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 600 points Monday after a one-two punch: the first-ever Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt, then the downgrading of government-backed mortgage debt. The Dow's one-day drop was its biggest point loss in a single day since Dec., 1 2008 and its sixth biggest point drop in its history.

The Dow closed down 634 points, the S&P 500 lost 79 points, and the Nasdaq ended 174 points lower, dropping almost 7 percent.

President Obama spoke this afternoon, saying the United States knew well before the S&P downgrade that it had a debt problem. "The U.S. will always be a triple-A country despite what rating agencies say," he said.

The good news, he said, is the debt is a "solvable" problem that can be addressed through tax reform and spending cuts.

Investors don't seem to agree. The Dow plunged an additional 100 points to hover around 500 after the president's speech.

Today's rout wiped out about $2.3 trillion in investor wealth in the United States.

As stocks reeled, gold surged today by $61 to $1,713 an ounce.

Question for you:

Do you believe the United States possesses the political will to halt the spending, put its fiscal affairs in order, and stave off a national and global economic crisis?

[ ] YES

[ ] NO

Please weigh in!

BZ

P.S.
"Today's rout wiped out about $2.3 trillion in investor wealth in the United States."