Obama Warns Recovery Takes Time

A disappointing drop in retail sales along with President Obama's warning that the economic recovery will take time sent the markets tumbling during the midday with the Dow plunging 148 points to 7910. Nasdaq plummeted 34 points to 1619.

On the upside

Credit Suisse analyst Ralph Giacobbe listed Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) as one of his top picks among hospital operators.

DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS) officially signed a three-year contract valued at approximately $360 million with Petrobras.

MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) amended its senior credit facility and can now fully fund its CityCenter project.

On the downside

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) while the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined the company $1.75 million.

Talbots (NYSE: TLB) reported a wider than expected fourth quarter loss and forecast disappointing first quarter results.

Barrington Research Associates analyst James Goss expects Gannett (NYSE: GCI) to report sharply lower revenue as advertising revenue continues to drop.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks plummeted 14 points to 454.