February marked the 4th straight month of negative returns in the domestic equity markets, a streak not seen since 2002. The S&P 500 was down 3.5%, the Dow lost 3%, and the NASDAQ dropped 5%. A sharp sell-off late last week placed all major indices in the red. Among the reasons- concerns over declining corporate profit, further credit market upheaval, expectations of a recession, a rise in oil prices and inflation worries. Of the 10 industry sectors in the S&P, only energy and materials managed to fend off a monthly decline. The Financial sector has been among those hardest hit. According to a UBS research note, banks have thus far disclosed over $181 billion in securities writedowns , with the estimated total eventually piling up to $350 billion, a staggering sum. On Friday the 29th, AIG took its biggest loss in the company’s history, announcing that a writedown contributed to a $5.29 billion loss in earnings for the 4th quarter. Year to date, the S&P 500 is down almost 7%, the Dow Industrials 5%, and the NASDAQ composite is down the most, at just over 12%. A number of economic reports will be released in the coming week and should provide some color on whether recessionary fears are founded.