Stocks swooned this session after manufacturing numbers caused stocks in China, then in the U.S., to fall sharply. As our trading session ended August 31, 2015, stocks closed out their worst month in more than three years. Although job growth numbers remained sturdy, investors eyed the tail end of second quarter corporate results, with earnings per share increases having much more to do with shaving costs and share repurchases rather than organic growth. Big media companies withered as investors wondered about the long-term viability of cable companies, and news that China's manufacturing activity shrunk more in July than initially thought put pressure on stocks. Manufacturing was down in the U.S., too: The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index fell to 52.7 in July from 53.5 the month before. Economists expected no change.
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