Same Old Story

Stocks were down again last week, a decline partly blamed on a study from the University of Michigan, released on Friday, that showed its consumer-confidence index dropping well over a point. Oil prices also saw another hike. The bad news overcame solid earnings posted by key blue chippers General Electric and United Technologies. For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1.7 percent to 10,392.99, the third consecutive week its arrow has pointed south. The Nasdaq was down 2.6 percent for the week to close at 2034.27. Among the big three holding companies, only IPG closed up for the week, at $13.15, a gain of 2.3 percent. All of that gain came on Tuesday, the first day of trading in the holiday-shortened week. Omnicom finished at $84.06, down 2.9 percent, the same percentage drop endured by WPP, which, trading as American Depository Receipts on the Nasdaq, closed at $51.51.