according to an article in 2002, "the stock market plunge is weighing heavily on both businesses and consumers." why would a decline in stock prices "weigh heavily" on businesses and consumers? what were the consequences of this for the economy?

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091008/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy
It just seemed like a very positive spin to describe over half million first time jobless claims.

Not really thinking they should go with the sky is falling approach, but I found it a bit laughable.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_economy

Per the article, Obama is helping small businesses to get loans.

According to many in here, that seemed to be one of the ways to boost the economy. Now that President Obama is addressing this, what will his naysayers gripe about now?