US stocks slide

U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply Friday morning after the Commerce Department said consumer spending was flat in August. The Commerce Department said spending rose just 0.05 percent month-to-month in August, while personal incomes rose 0.1 percent. Markets were mixed in Asia and mostly lower in Europe as trading began in New York. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 111.49 points, or 0.83 percent, to 13,374.48. The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite index shed 24.25 points, or 0.77 percent, to 3,112.35. The S&P 500 gave up 10.70 points, 0.74 percent, to 1,436.45. The benchmark 10-year treasury rose 15/32 to yield 1.609 percent. The euro fell to $1.2851 from Thursday\'s $1.2913. The U.S. dollar rose to 77.78 yen from Thursday\'s 77.60 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.89 percent, 79.71 points, to 8,870.16.