falling U.S Stocks this week

U.S. stocks fell this week, led by banks, amid concern that a bailout may not stem the Irish Europe's debt crisis, China will raise interest rates to cool inflation and conflict on the Korean Peninsula will intensify.

"Things are looking a quite serious," said Peter Sorrentino, who helps oversee 13.8 billion U.S. dollars in Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati. "They serve to keep the real key investors on the sidelines because they are reasons for not taking a risk."

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. led declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, both losing more than 4.6 percent after Ireland became the second country in the euro to seek a bailout and the cost to save their banks threatened with a repetition of the Greek debt crisis. Hewlett-Packard Co. limited losses for the benchmark, increased its earnings beat estimates.

500 of Standard & Poor's dropped 0.9 percent this week to 1,189.40 as 8 of 10 groups of the industry declined. The Dow lost 1 percent to 11.092, with 25 of its 30 companies falling. Both indicators of equity are more than 6.3 percent this year.

Financial companies led the S & P 500 lower, losing 2.5 percent for the biggest drop among 10 industry groups. S & P Ratings Services lowered the counterparty credit rating long-term Irish banks such as Allied Irish Banks Plc and Bank of Ireland Plc.

Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank by assets, fell 4.6 percent to $ 11.12. JPMorgan, the second largest, fell 4.8 percent to $ 37.50. Citigroup Inc. fell 3.7 percent to $ 4.11.

Korea clashes

The S & P 500 posted its biggest drop of the week Nov. 23, losing 1.4 percent after fighting broke out between North and South Korea. North Korea bombed a South Korean island near the disputed border between the two countries, killing two soldiers in the worst attack on its neighbor by at least eight months.

The government of China in the last month has intensified a campaign to limit credit growth after inflation accelerated and increased housing prices. China's largest banks are about to reach government-set limits on loans and a plan to stop the expansion of their loan portfolios to avoid exceeding the annual, four people briefed on the matter, said this week.

"If you take things so negative you sounded together in China, Ireland and Korea," said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at New York's Russell Investments, which manages 149 billion U.S. dollars. "They have drowned out the positive aspects of the numbers of better jobs and corporate profits in the U.S."

Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest manufacturer of equipment, rose 1.7 percent to $ 43.20. The Palo-Alto, California-based company forecast first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates as companies accelerate the purchase of personal computers, printers, servers and networking equipment.

Monster Manifestations

Monster Worldwide Inc., operator of the site www.monster.com job search, won 17 percent to $ 23.18 for the biggest jump in the S & P 500 after a Labor Department report showed a drop in applications for unemployment benefits. Requests for unemployment last week fell 34,000 to 407,000, the lowest level since July 2008.

The benchmark for options on U.S. stock rose highest since May. The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Volatility Index is known, increased 23 percent to 22.22. The index, which measures the cost of using options to hedge against S & P 500 declines, has recovered from a minimum of six months of 18.04 wfeeks ago.

The Treasury will sell $ 29 billion in three months and $ 28 billion in bonds to six months on 29 November. Yielded 0.15 percent and 0.21 percent respectively in the when issued trading.