Dow off 43 on
Rivlin’s comments

NEW YORK -- Stocks slid today, giving back part of last week's rally, as a Federal Reserve official stirred up inflation worries during what had been a lifeless session.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 43.34 points to close at 6,660.21, bouncing back over the final minutes from an 86-point slide.

The barometer of 30 big companies added 310 points last week, recovering nearly half of the 700 points it lost over the prior month.

Decliners led advancers by a 9-to-5 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 918 up, 1,663 down and 745 unchanged. NYSE volume totaled 393.65 million shares vs. 468.17 million Friday.

Broader measures also turned sharply lower in the afternoon after Alice Rivlin, vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, heightened fears the central bank will raise interest rates repeatedly to fight inflation.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock list fell 5.97 to 760.37, and the NYSE composite index lost 3.24 points to 399.40. The Nasdaq composite index fell 18.35 to 1,204.22, and the American Stock Exchange composite index dropped 4.54 to 551.47.

Rivlin cautioned that persistent strength in consumer demand could aggravate inflationary pressures at the nation's factories.

After her comments were publicized, bond prices fell, lifting the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond -- a key influence on borrowing costs -- to 7.09 percent. Last week, the long-bond yield rose to a nine month-high of 7.17 percent before edging lower.