As expected, the Congress supercommittee assigned to cut the US deficit announced their failure to reach an agreement on Monday, sending stocks tumbling. This raises the specter of another US debt downgrade in the near future. On Tuesday, the Dow crossed back into negative territory for the year after a downward revision in the third quarter GDP reading from 2.5% to 2.0%. Investors headed for the exits on Wednesday, both literally and figuratively, as stocks fell another 2% prior to Thursday’s closure in observance of Thanksgiving. While stocks began Friday positive, the optimism faded later in the holiday-shortened trading day with the major indexes adding to their already large weekly losses.

This was the worst Thanksgiving week performance by the stock market since the holiday began to be officially observed in 1942. [table id=38 /]