The problems have appeared in a range of industries. The aviation giant Boeing saw profits fall 38 percent last quarter. Merck, the pharmaceutical company, posted a 28 percent drop in net income and will cut jobs. The North Carolina-based bank Wachovia, which was recently acquired by Wells Fargo, suffered a $23.7 billion net loss.
At 1:45 p.m., the broad Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down more than 4.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite index was off about 3 percent, despite gains in shares of Apple and Yahoo. The Dow, after falling more than 200 points on Tuesday, was off about 380 points to 8,649, a decline of 4.3 percent, with 29 of the 30 components of the index in retreat. Only McDonald’s showed a gain.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average plunged 6.8 percent after three days of gains as the yen surged. NEC Electronics plummeted about 20 percent. The electronics company shocked investors by slashing its annual operating profit forecast by 90 percent to 1 billion yen, or $10 million, citing weak demand.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 3.4 percent lower. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed more than 5 percent lower, as Citic Pacific fell 24 percent. The company this week predicted a trading loss of up to $2 billion caused by what it said were unauthorized bets on foreign exchange markets.

-NYT