Falling 16% today was Merrill Lynch & Co (MER) to a new 52 week low as investors drive the shares down on fear of yet another investment bank not being able to survive.

Corning Inc (NYSE:GLW) continues to slide reaching a new 52 week low today after being downgraded by RBC Capital Corp and cutting their third quarter outlook yesterday. But the current price/earnings ratio is too low for a company with the earnings and revenue growth displayed.

The NASDAQ Composite and the Russell 2000 have signaled a hold mid-week with the Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 still long. This was anticipated on August 21^st as the indexes where not climbing but trading in a range and the news around the market was not bullish.

Dell Inc. (DELL) missed its earnings expectations today and looks to be expensive even after a 12% drop in stock value. Analysts were looking for 36 cents a share but the company could only earn 31 cents for the previous 3 months.

Some countries are being affected by the global slowdown more than others. The iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ) is in the mist of a trend downward that has not taken too many pauses. Begun at the beginning of June, the index Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has dropped 20% from 13.83 to 11.20 on August 25^th.

Chinese Internet portal Netease.com reached a new 52 week high yesterday which also happened to be a 5 year high for the company.

Strong Call option buying in Akamai Technologies (AKAM) on Friday is a positive sign for the company. Most of the buying was in the front month of September with some additional buying in the October Calls noted.

Whole Foods Market Inc (WFMI) finished the week with a little uptick as volume spiked at the close on Friday but the weeks chart looks similar to Freddie Mac (FRE). Of course Freddie Mac dropped 43% this week while Whole Foods only dropped 6%. But the continued slide looks similar.

This has been a very difficult week for stocks and Thursday is looking to be another day of negative movement in the indexes. The index indicators are still showing a positive bias but with this weeks action they could signal a hold instead of a buy today or tomorrow.

A recent run-up in biotechnology shares has led to new highs for the iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (IBB) Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).