They Must Not Teach Hard Times at Harvard
Markets Fall as Corporate America Braces For Impact
Filed at 3:51 p.m. ET
BOSTON (Reuters) - With stock markets falling, the U.S. housing market in a tailspin and credit tightening, corporate America is bracing for impact.
Top U.S. executives are watching the spread of the economic contagion that started with a slump in U.S. home prices and spread through the financial sector as default rates on risky subprime mortgages rose, spooking investors the world over.
Department store chain J.C. Penney Co. regards "pretty negative sentiment" as a business reality for the near future, its chief executive said on Thursday.
"Our responsibility is to find a way to perform whatever the environment, despite a pretty negative sentiment in the marketplace, particularly about housing and energy," said Mike Ullman, CEO of the Plano, Texas-based chain.
Deere & Co. , which makes heavy equipment used in construction and agriculture, has already started to brace for slower demand, a top executive said on We…