NEW YORK - Wall Street is plunging again, with the Dow Jones industrials down more than 500 points as investors agonize over the faltering economy. Stocks are down on a combination of disheartening economic data, including a big drop in retail sales and a Federal Reserve report that says tight credit conditions are hurting businesses across the country.

The Fed's Beige Book, which details conditions around the nation, found that the economy continued to slow in the early fall as financial and credit problems took a turn for the worse.

The report confirms the market's belief that difficulties in obtaining loans has choked growth in wide swaths of the economy.

The Dow is down about 550 at the 8,760 level.

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