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It was the worst first-day of the year point decline ever, at least for the Dow........as returning investors found little to be joyous about - including oil at $100 a barrel and a pullback in the factory sector. The Dow started the year with a 220 point decline. The S&P 500 lost 21. The Nasdaq fell 42. That flight from equities resulted in a flight to treasuries. The 10-year note was up a point, The 30-year bond was up nearly 2 points as talk of a recession grows. That chatter fueled-in-part by oil. Crude oil BRIEFLY touched $100 a barrel for the first time as traders returned from the holidays and set new positions. The bullish bias was set by violence in at least two OPEC member nations, colder temperatures in the U.S., and a sagging dollar. Crude oil settled at 99 dollars and 62 cents. But Wall Street was depressed before oil hit that milestone. A report showed the manufacturing sector contracted at the end of last year. The Institute for Supply Management's monthly index posted its weakest reading since April of 2003. The report boosted chances the Federal Reserve will have to keep cutting rates. A scenario seemingly backed-up by minutes from the Fed's December meeting. Gold prices responded by surging to a record above $861 an ounce. The precious metal is historically seen as a safe-haven during times of economic or political uncertainty. As for individual stocks...Intel - was cut to a neutral rating amid a broad downgrade of the chip sector. Investors are locking-in strong gains from last year. Intel was up nearly 32 percent in 2007. But the stock began 2008 with a near 5 percent decline. And Exxon Mobil barely moved despite triple-digit oil prices. Meanwhile in Europe, signs of dealmaking in the banking sector were not strong enough to offset U.S. recessionary fears. The German Dax and the Paris CAC-40 fell over 1 percent. The London FTSE was down as well. For Reuters. I'm Conway Gittens.