The Hard Times Cafe

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street has ended a whipsaw day mostly lower, as fears of escalating instability in the financial sector kept investors on edge despite a steep retreat in oil.

Just days after the government said it would aid Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if necessary, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress the U.S. economy faces "numerous difficulties."

The Dow Jones industrial average is down about 93 points at the 10,962 level.

A barrel of light, sweet crude sank $6.44 to settle at $138.74 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "

Link to article below

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080715/wall_street.html?.v=10