We’re definitely in bear territory now, and not the furry kind either. The Dow just keeps sinking.

The stock market’s pullback, which accelerated in the final hours of the week’s last full trading session, left the Dow Jones industrial average officially in bear market territory, with the blue chips having fallen more than 20 percent from their October highs.

…The Dow fell 166.75, or 1.46 percent, to 11,215.51, the lowest close since August 2006. It now stands 20.82 percent below its Oct. 9, 2007 record of 14,164.53. The last bear market ended in October 2002.

And oil just keeps rising, what with the tension between Israel and Iran, no surprise either.

Crude oil hit a record $144.32 a barrel in after-hours trading after reaching a record settlement of $143.57, an advance of $2.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Energy Department reported Wednesday that U.S. crude oil supplies fell more than expected last week.

It’ll only get worse. With retirement not that many years off, things are looking rather bleak. I don’t like it very much.

I’ll like it even less if Obama gets elected and raises my taxes.