What's that you say? Dow 8...

DOW MAY HIT 8,750
FEDERAL RESCUE TEAM IS PUSHING ON A STRING

Written by Paul Tharp

Investors suffering from five-straight days of global economic turmoil are searching for relief at the bottom of the black hole of Wall Street stocks - possibly at a floor of 8,750 on the Dow Jones industrial average.

"Stocks continue to go down because the economy is such a mess, no matter how the government tries to prop up failed companies," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro-Pacific Capital.

While some traders see the daily selloffs as a sign that a bottom is in sight and a rally is within reach, it's the absolute floor on which many of the gloomiest are now focused.

"A Dow at 8,750 is possible but we can still go lower. The market is still trying to rein in all the excesses," said Schiff, who correctly predicted the current multi-faceted crisis in a 2007 best-seller.

The market rout has now wiped out as much as one-third of the value of stocks since their highs of last October.