Investors fleeing stocks for safer water isn’t a new theme, but the concept was a big part of the story today. The yield on various Treasury notes hit multi-year lows, and in some cases record lows. Benchmark 10-year notes actually saw yields down more than 6% late in the day, an astounding move as investors appeared to give up on anything asset class with risk and poured cash into Treasuries.

The on-again, off-again bailout package for automakers looked like a go at midday, sparking a big recovery rally for shares of GM and Ford, but the rescue package apparently still has to clear some hurdles, which sparked a slide in automaker stocks from their midday peak late in the day. Shares in Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) were flat late in the day, while General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) was up 6%.

The tone for a rugged day was cast ahead of the opening when the latest data on weekly unemployment claims showed that 542,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance last week – the largest one-week total in 16 years. What’s more, the number of people unable to find a job and remaining on continuing claims rose to 4.012 million, the highest number in 26 years. There are a lot of people out of work who can’t find a job, and there are a bunch of new people joining their ranks every week. In that type of environment, an economy that is already struggling will continue to sputter – the only question is how much of the negative economic news is already priced into this historic stock market collapse. The market will get a break from any major economic reports Friday, allowing other factors to compete for investor attention.

The energy market was also a big bearish factor for stocks today. Crude oil prices tumbled some 8% to three-year lows as fears of sinking global demand . . .