We're officially in a bear market

Wall Street Journal:

Stocks fizzled Wednesday, ending in bear-market territory for the first time in more than 5-1/2 years as oil jumped and fears about the financial health of General Motors mounted.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed brief rallies in morning trading but ended down by 166.75 points at 11215.51, down 20.8% from its record close in October. Traditionally, a fall of 20% from a high is considered the definition of a bear market.

On January 22, 2001, just after Bush took office, the Dow Jones closed at 10,578.24. Yesterday it closed at 11,215.51. That's an increase of 6% in seven years.

It's been another fantastic Republican economy.