Obama Sworn In, But Stocks Continue Slide

Despite an inspirational inaugural address from new U.S. President Barack Obama, stocks failed to gain any ground and drifted lower in afternoon trade. At 2:05PM, the Dow was down 197, the Nasdaq was down 62 and the S&P 500 was down 29.

Financial stocks are weak across the board following news of a second bank bailout in the UK, big losses at RBS (NYSE: RBS) and deteriorating profits and portfolio at State Street (NYSE: STT). Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is down 19%, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is down 14%, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) is down 20% and Citi (NYSE: C) is down 14%.

Commenting on the dismissal state of the economy in his speech Obama said, "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America." Obama said we will build roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed commerce. He also said, "we will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

Here is a link to the prepared text of U.S. President Barack Obama's inaugural address.

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