Stockhouse @ the Bell: Stocks plunge on retail, Nortel woes

Today on Stockhouse

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New, long-term bull could take years, says Steven Saville.

Eric Sprott on why to always go for the gold: Part 1, from The Gold Report.

J.W. Cotton provides stock picks and immediate insider sells.

Bullish option activity in Dow Chemical, notes Jud Pyle of www.ONN.tv .

Buzz on the Boards stopped in to observe conversation on the Northern Freegold Resources (TSX: V.NFR, Stock Forum) Bullboard and the Azteca Gold Corp. (TSX: V.AZG, Stock Forum) Bullboard.

Top Bullboards post:“…The largest financial institution in the world and America has failed. It will take time for Citi to be unwound and sell off its assets which are less than the amount owed to Uncle Sam. It will take time for the US financial system to be rebuilt and in the interim, if the US dollar crashes after the recent market crash, I believe that oil and gas will then quickly be no longer be priced in US dollars. This would lead to a new world financial order that no one currently can fathom. Total outstanding derivatives in the world are estimated to have peaked at 1.13 quadrillion dollars. In spite of Obama's good intentions, there is no way he can save and restore the existing system with any plan. There is no way that can of leverage can be unwound [sic].” – From teevee on the Peyto Energy Trust (TSX: T.PEY.UN, Stock Forum) Bullboard.

Top Bullboard:Following news that it was filing for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, the Nortel Networks (TSX: T.NT, Stock Forum) Bullboard finished the day as the most posted board on Stockhouse.

Top blog:littleguy123 discusses the question “is the 2009 "script" already written ??” on the Outside the Market blog.

For news about small stocks that made big moves in Wednesday trading, please read the Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report.

Word on Wall Street

"No doubt the retail sales numbers that came in just reminded us how bad the fourth quarter is going to look," Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments at PNC Wealth Management told the Associated Press. "You take that on top of questions around the financial sector lingering, that's not a prescription as we end the last days of the Bush administration."

After-Hours News

Motorola (NYSE: MOT)
After Wednesday's close, the mobile device and networking technology maker said it will cut 4,000 jobs in addition to previously-announced staff reductions, and expects fourth-quarter revenue to be between $7 billion and $7.2 billion, and a net loss from continuing operations of between seven and eight cents a share.

Detour Gold (TSX: T.DGC)
The junior miner, after Wednesday's closing bell, reported assay results for an additional 35 holes totaling 13,395 metres from its 2008 infill drilling program at the Detour Lake project in northern Ontario, which included 2.48 g/t gold over 42 metres.

Today In The Markets

Stocks plunge on retail, banking worries; Nortel files for bankruptcy protection

DJIA	8,200.14	-248.42
NASDAQ	1,489.64	-56.82
S&P500	842.62	-29.17
S&P/TSX	8,688.36	-273.19
S&P/TSX Venture	849.53	-19.37

TORONTO, NEW YORK (CP) - North American stock markets tumbled as dismal U.S. retail news raised worries about the depth of the U.S. recession and former tech star Nortel Networks (TSX: T.NT) filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index fell 273.19 points or three per cent to 8,688.36. The TSX Venture Exchange was down 19.37 points to 849.53 while the Canadian dollar slipped 1.54 cents to 80.11 cents US.

New York's Dow Jones industrials lost 248.42 points to 8,200.14 as retail sales plunged 2.7 per cent in December, a record sixth straight monthly decline. The Nasdaq composite index lost 56.82 points to 1,489.64 while the S&P 500 was off 29.17 points to 842.62.

Please click here for the complete U.S. and Canadian market summaries.