Sharp drop in retail sales sinks markets

An unexpectedly sharp drop in December retail sales spooked investors to send the markets tumbling with the Dow plunging 186 points to close at 17,427. Nasdaq fell 22 points to 4,639.

On the upside

Reuters reported that Samsung offered up to $7.5 billion to acquire BlackBerry (Nasdaq: BBRY).

Alcobra (Nasdaq: ADHD) closed its public offering of common stock.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AEGR) granted stock options to ten new employees.

On the downside

Flamel Technology (Nasdaq: FLML) reported that the Food and Drug Administration approved rival Fresenius Kabi's New Drug Application for neostigmine methylsulfate, which Flamel sells as Bloxiverz.

Analysts expect Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) to report lower fourth quarter earnings tomorrow morning.

Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE: TC) extended its losses.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 3 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 dropped 11 points to 2011. Bitcoin tumbled $44 to $174.
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