Obama Should Make Economy Job #1

Meet the Obama Economy. It's not pretty, especially for stocks.

Already, the S&P has had its worst two-day drop since October 1987, shedding more than 100 points on nothing but bad news from economic data. The Dow is down almost 10 percent during that period too.

When Barack Obama speaks Friday after meeting with his economic advisers in Chicago (see the impressive list here and note there's a couple of Treasury Secretary candidates attending, though Politico says no appointments will be announced), there's a good chance stock could continue their post-election slump.

That's because unless he offers some really ambitious, Wall Street-friendly new ideas (and that means more than just a plan for infrastructure, stimulus, or an auto sector bailout) the threat of a terrible employment report before the market opens could derail hopes for a bounce.

Right now, the economy is expected to lose 200,000 jobs during October with unemployment edging up to 6.3 percent. Problem is, forecasting October job losses is just about as muddy as it gets thanks to the credit crisis that (hopefully) came to a head during that month, and nobody expects a surprise to be pleasant.

Combine that with fears that damage from credit turmoil is still hurting investment banks (see: Goldman Sachs) plus an untold number of hedge funds facing year-end redemptions, and it's clear that the troubles plaguing markets won't be swept out with the old administration.