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Stocks tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by signs of deterioration in the labor market and concern over the outlook for corpo

rate profits. 

Concern about the U.S. labor market and the broader economy were compounded by news showing that sluggish growth was also emerging abroad. Euro zone economic data point to a weakening in growth at midyear, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said.

Shares of Caterpillar, the maker of bulldozers and excavators, and a major exporter, fell to $64.01 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Boeing shares dropped to $63.34.

Shares of technology companies, seen most vulnerable due to extensive global exposure, fell.

Shares of networking equipment maker Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) were a top drag on the S&P 500, with a drop of 4 percent at $22.38 on Nasdaq.

BlackBerry devices maker Research In Motion (RIM.TO) (RIMM.O) was the top Nasdaq drag, falling more than 3 percent to $11.08. Shares of iPod and iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) dropped 1 percent to $165.24.

The bleak economic news overshadowed a solid August sales report from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N), the world’s largest retailer, whose stock rose 0.8 percent to $60.24.

Labor market jitters were sparked by a weekly government report showing an unexpected jump in the number of filings for jobless benefits and by a report by ADP Employer Services showing U.S. private employers slashed 33,000 jobs in August.

Top drags included shares of economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), down more than 5 percent, and Boeing (BA.N), whose stock slid more than 4 percent after the plane maker’s largest labor union said its members had rejected the company’s contract offer and voted to strike.

“The job market has been just a slow drip of bad news,” said John Augustine, chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“That’s better than an open faucet, but it’s still bad news for the economy. The stock market is struggling because it’s waiting for better labor market news.”

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slid 232.94 points, or 2.02 percent, to 11,299.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) dropped 21.35 points, or 1.67 percent, to 1,253.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) declined 41.59 points, or 1.78 percent, to 2,292.14.

A lower close will mark the fourth day of losses for both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

The economic data was all the more unnerving for investors as it came just a day before the all-important release of the government’s August non-farm payrolls report.

Stocks tumbled on Thursday, weighed down by signs of deterioration in the labor market and concern over the outlook for corporate profits.

Labor market jitters were sparked by a weekly government report showing an unexpected jump in the number of filings for jobless benefits and by a report by ADP Employer Services showing U.S. private employers slashed 33,000 jobs in August.

Top drags included shares of economic bellwethers such as Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), down more than 5 percent, and Boeing (BA.N), whose stock slid more than 4 percent after the plane maker’s largest labor union said its members had rejected the company’s contract offer and voted to strike.

“The job market has been just a slow drip of bad news,” said John Augustine, chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“That’s better than an open faucet, but it’s still bad news for the economy. The stock market is struggling because it’s waiting for better labor market news.”

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slid 232.94 points, or 2.02 percent, to 11,299.94. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) dropped 21.35 points, or 1.67 percent, to 1,253.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) declined 41.59 points, or 1.78 percent, to 2,292.14.

A lower close will mark the fourth day of losses for both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

The economic data was all the more unnerving for investors as it came just a day before the all-important release of the government’s August non-farm payrolls report.

Concern about the U.S. labor market and the broader economy were compounded by news showing that sluggish growth was also emerging abroad. Euro zone economic data point to a weakening in growth at midyear, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said.

Shares of Caterpillar, the maker of bulldozers and excavators, and a major exporter, fell to $64.01 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Boeing shares dropped to $63.34.

Shares of technology companies, seen most vulnerable due to extensive global exposure, fell. Shares of networking equipment maker Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) were a top drag on the S&P 500, with a drop of 4 percent at $22.38 on Nasdaq.

BlackBerry devices maker Research In Motion (RIM.TO) (RIMM.O) was the top Nasdaq drag, falling more than 3 percent to $11.08. Shares of iPod and iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O) dropped 1 percent to $165.24.

The bleak economic news overshadowed a solid August sales report from Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N), the world’s largest retailer, whose stock rose 0.8 percent to $60.24.

Stocks tumbled on Tuesday as investors confronted fresh signs that the recession is worsening and worried that efforts to stabilize the beleaguered financial system may not prove sufficient.

Energy shares slid along with plunging oil prices, sending Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) down 4.3 percent to $71.41. U.S. front-month crude dropped 6.7 percent, or $2.54, to $34.98 a barrel amid concern the deepening recession will sap energy demand.

Among big manufacturers, shares of 3M Co (MMM.N) fell almost 4 percent to $47.55, while Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) shed 5.1 percent to $29.36. On Nasdaq, shares of iPod and iPhone maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O) were a top drag, down 3.5 percent at $95.78. The semiconductor index (.SOXX) fell 5 percent.

Wal-Mart (WMT.N) was the only stock higher in the 30-component Dow industrial average after the retailer posted a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street’s forecasts. It was up 3.3 percent at $48.07.

U.S. President Barack Obama is due to sign a $787 billion economic stimulus bill into law on Tuesday, but investors are fearful that the measure would not help soften the impact of the 14-month-old recession soon enough. The White House hopes the package will save or create 3.5 million jobs

The slide took the benchmark S&P 500 below the 800 level for the first time since the bear market low of November 21, weighed by financials, energy companies and big manufacturers.

Shares of Bank of America (BAC.N) fell 10.2 percent to $5 on the New York Stock Exchange, as shares of JPMorgan (JPM.N) lost nearly 9 percent to $22.53. Wells Fargo (WFC.N) dropped more than 7 percent to $14.54, as the KBW Banks index (.BKX) tumbled 7.2 percent.

“There’s still trouble in the banking sector, trouble with respect to corporate earnings and nothing that we’ve seen is going to reverse that in the short term,” said Dan Greenhous, market analyst at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

“I don’t believe equities are appropriately priced for weakness through the entirety of 2009.”

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slid 263.95 points, or 3.36 percent, to 7,586.46. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) dropped 32.62 points, or 3.95 percent, to 794.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) tumbled 53.90 points, or 3.51 percent, to 1,480.46.

Before the market’s open, a report showing that manufacturing production in New York state fell to a record low in February added to worries about the deepening recession among investors already fearful that a new U.S. economic stimulus package won’t be a quick fix.

In Japan data showed on Monday that the world’s second biggest economy sank deeper into recession with its worst quarterly contraction since the oil crisis in the 1970s.

US book publishers are smiling again, after years of watching digital versions of their titles sell for below what they thought they were worth.

Unveiling the iPad, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs announced deals with five major publishers and an agreement that allows publishers to set higher prices while Apple settles for a 30-percent cut.

The so-called “agency model” is a departure from the way Amazon has been doing business with book publishers.

Since the release of the Kindle two years ago, Amazon has sold digital versions of hardcover new releases and bestsellers for 9.99 dollars, a move primarily aimed at driving sales of the online retail giant’s e-reader.

Publishers were generally opposed, believing the price too low, but were not in a position to argue while Amazon was the only game in town.

That is no longer the case and the revolt against Amazon was immediate.

Just days after the wraps were taken off the iPad, Macmillan informed Amazon it wanted to begin charging between 12.99 and 14.99 dollars for e-book versions of most hardcover new releases and bestsellers.

Macmillan said it would give Amazon a 30-percent cut, as with Apple.

Amazon protested, temporarily pulling Macmillan titles — both print and e-books — from its online bookstore, but acknowledged that “ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan’s terms.”

Another major publisher, Hachette Book Group, quickly followed Macmillan.

“It’s important to note that we are not looking to the agency model as a way to make more money on e-books,” Hachette chairman and chief executive David Young said in a letter to literary agents.

“In fact, we make less on each e-book sale under the new model,” he said. “We’re willing to accept lower return for e-book sales as we control the value of our product — books, and content in general.

“We’re taking the long view on e-book pricing, and this new model helps protect the long-term viability of the book marketplace,” Young said.

Gartner analyst Allen Weiner said it remains to be seen whether consumers, having gotten used to paying 9.99 dollars for a bestseller or a new release, will pay more.

“The precedent may have already been set,” Weiner said. “Consumers may not pay more than 12 dollars.”

“The damage that Amazon has done may be irreparable,” he said. “The cow is out of the barn. I don’t know how you get the cow back in the barn.”

At the same time though, “we’re in the process of having all distribution lines and pricing models redrawn,” Weiner said. “It’s Chapter One in all of this, but it may or may not dictate what happens at the end.”

A host of rivals to the market-dominating Kindle electronic reader has given newfound hope to publishers that they will finally be able to dictate their own terms after being at the mercy of Amazon.

Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. stable includes publisher Harper-Collins, could hardly contain his glee during an earnings call last week.

“Without content, the ever larger and flatter screens, the tablets, the e-readers and the increasingly sophisticated mobile phones would be lifeless,” Murdoch said. “Without content these ingenious and wonderful devices would be unloved and unsold.”

One new arrival in particular has Murdoch and other publishers excited — Apple’s iPad tablet computer, which doubles as a full-color e-reader of books, newspapers and magazines.

“We’re at a happy point, not just with Apple, but with Barnes & Noble and the ‘Nook,’ the 23 devices that have been launched, and Google Books seems to be just around the corner,” a source in the publishing industry said.

“Now we have that many more distribution outlets coming,” said the source, who requested anonymity out of fear of antagonizing Amazon, which may be facing competition but remains the undisputed e-book leader.

Although the iPad will not be available to consumers until the end of March, Apple is shaking up the digital book market like it did the music industry with the iPod and iTunes music store.