Investors were pausing to catch their breath last Thursday after the stock market experienced its worst drop of the year thanks to mixed signals about prospects for the economy.

Consumer spending is still strong, which is a good thing. Retail sales are up. But industrial production fell. And some not-so-promising news about manufacturing in China brought about a sharp selloff on  Wall Street this week, triggering the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 to fall three percent.

Here’s more on the scare:

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/15/751421347/stock-markets-take-a-breather-after-steep-drop