“Monumental beating” is how MarketWatch is calling it this morning for U.S. stocks.

U.S. stock futures pointed to another monumental beating on Friday – with leading contracts falling as much as rules allow — as a plunge in Asia reignited concerns about the health of the global economy.

S&P 500 futures dropped 60 points to 855.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 85 points to 1,168.50. Dow industrial futures fell 550 points.

All three contracts fell so much that they reached pre-specified limits that can’t be broken until pit trading opens.

Thursday’s session for U.S. stocks was erratic but generally positive, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing 172 points higher and the S&P 500 rising 11 points, though the Nasdaq Composite slipped 11 points.

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Whip Inflation Now…Where Can We Get Help on Inflation?…The Patient Died Anyway…Inflation in Asia and Europe…There Are No Good Solutions

So, without further ado, let’s jump into the problem with the Euro. Back in May 2007, we wrote a piece entitled “Part 2-So What Should We Worry About“.

Hedge fund managers are piling money into Asian markets. It proves something we at Profit Hunter have believed for months…Asia has bottomed out!

At a time when Europe and the United States are shedding jobs in the financial sector, one financial center is only adding to its ranks: Hong Kong.

What countries are truly the have and have nots of the world? Good friend and business partner Niels Jensen of Absolute Return Partners suggests we look at the old equation in a new way? Food and energy resources may be at least part of the definition in the future.

There’s an old Wall Street adage that tells us that “the trend is your friend.” And there’s a witty bit of wisdom we’ve developed here at Money Morning to help guide our readers and us that says: “Go global or go home.”

As the slowdown in the West intensifies, emerging markets continue to perform. Three of the top 10 global IPOs were Chinese, and Chinese and Indian companies between them raised a whopping $12.6 billion over the first quarter.

China’s long-term prospects are so strong that even a civil war, an economic collapse or political assassinations would only temporarily delay its emergence as a worldwide economic powerhouse.

What happened to Asian decoupling? Wasn’t Asia – thanks largely to fast-growing heavyweights China and India – supposed to shrug off the financial crisis and economic slowdown in the US?