Stock markets plummet; analysts unsure over holiday spending; Twitter sues ...

Stock market update:

Stocks ended sharply lower today, with major indexes falling 1 percent in heavy trading, as weak data out of Germany raised concerns about the strength of global growth ahead of the start of earnings season. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 272.52 points to 16,719.39, the S&P 500 lost 29.72 points to 1,935.10 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 69.60 points to 4,385.20. ( Sydney Morning Herald)

European stocks have sunk as the IMF cut the eurozone growth outlook and German industrial output slumped, with market sentiment also shaken by Europe's first home-grown case of Ebola. ( AFP News)

Gold ended higher today as its safe-haven appeal increased after the International Monetary Fund cut its global economic growth forecasts and weak German industrial data stoked further growth concerns. ( Reuters)

Business news:

Forecasts for holiday spending are painting a mixed picture following a disappointing back-to-school season that came on the heels of first-half underperformance. ( MarketWatch)

Walmart, the biggest private employer in the U.S., is cutting health benefits for part-time workers. ( Bloomberg Businessweek)

A report today from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates companies have lots of job openings -- the most, in fact, since January 2001, but they aren't hiring to fill those positions. ( Bloomberg Businessweek)

General Motors stock closed down nearly 6 percent today, following a Wall Street analyst's warning to investors that he was cutting his profit outlook for the Detroit automaker and his stock price target to $27 a share, from $29. ( The Detroit News)

SodaStream International tumbled in New York as quarterly sales of its at-home carbonation system fell short of estimates and its chief executive officer said the company must change direction. ( Bloomberg News)

The Labor Department reported today about 168 million children, aged 5 to 7, worked last year as laborers around the world, about half of them in hazardous jobs. ( Associated Press)

The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth in 2015 and warned about the risks of rising geopolitical tensions and a financial-market correction as stocks reach 'frothy' levels. ( Bloomberg News)

Technology news:

Twitter just sued the federal government over restrictions the government places on how much the company can disclose about surveillance requests it receives. ( Wired)

Facebook today announced the formal launch of Audience Network, an ad platform it first revealed at f8 in April that lets Facebook advertisers extend their ad reach beyond the confines of the social network. ( PC Magazine)

People have possessed the ability to spend and send money with their smartphones for years, but mobile payments have not taken off in a big way - yet. ( CNN News)

Nokia said it would suspend mobile handset production at its troubled Chennai facility in India on Nov. 1 given that the company has yet to resolve a tax dispute with the Indian government. ( Reuters)

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