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| MARKETWorst Financial Crises since Great Depression in Review 2007 to 2009 Episodes December 1, 2009 After
more than two-year financial malaise, signs of recovery finally emerged
in 2009 as the economy expanded for the first time in a year in October
and stock markets surged above 50% from their the bottom in March. A
major challenge to a full recovery is the struggling labor market with
a 10.2% unemployment rate.
Housing bubble burst and subprime mortgage disaster in 2006 led to a
series of stunning financial closures. They changed the face of Wall
Street forever, turned the United States economic to the most serious
crisis since the Great Depression, and eventually sent the global
financial system into turmoil in the fourth quarter 2008. Continue readingA kaleidoscope of the critical events in 2008 & 2009: 2009: A Recovery Year of American Economy2008: A Dark Year of American and World Economy
U.S. Insurance Fund is In Red November 24, 2009  The U.S.
government-administered insurance fund that protects depositors slipped into
the red after fifty banks collapsed during the third quarter. The fund that
protects more than $4.5 trillion of U.S. bank deposits fell into the red for
the first time since the fallout from the savings-and-loan crisis of the early
1990s as the pace of bank failures accelerated.
The fund had a negative balance of $8.2 billion at the end
of September after the fund dropped by $18.6 billion during the third quarter
of 2009, federal regulators said Tuesday, Nov. 24. This report confirms what
officials of the Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation (F.D.I.C.) said in
October that the deposit insurance fund had been depleted. Continue reading
Dollar faces alarming pressure November 12, 2009 Investors
around the world see the U.S. dollar as weaker than other currencies
because of U.S. interest rates near zero and huge budget deficits. That
prompts them to trade out of the dollar for riskier, high-yielding
assets in equity markets and other countries.
The expectation that interest rates are set to remain low in the U.S.
has been a key factor behind the weak dollar and buoyant commodity and
stock markets. Investors are betting that policy makers will do little
to undermine the strong support for stimulus policies that have done
much to fuel global markets and restore risk appetite. They sold the
American currency off earlier in the week by expectations that U.S.
interest rates will be left low for some time. While the dollar may be
gaining strength recently, concerns about the currency persist. Continue reading
Confidence returned, Dow reclaimed 10,000 mark October 14, 2009 U.S.
stocks soared higher sparked by earnings news on Wednesday, Oct. 14,
pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close above 10,000 for the
first time in more than year. The sharp rally signaled investors' confidence that the economy is recovering from the financial crisis and recession. The Dow finished up 144.90 points, or 1.5%, to close at 10,015.86, its highest level since global markets plunge on Oct. 6,
2008, when the Dow fell below 10,000 amid the outbreak of financial
crisis on Wall Street. The Dow first closed above 10,000 in May 1999
but retreated in the years after the dot-com bubble deflated. It then
regained the 10,000 mark in late 2003 before peaking at 14,000 in
October 2007. Continue reading
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| Investor smell a recovery
Is bull market under way?
July 27, 2009
After
stumbling for a couple of weeks, Wall Street's rally got its steam
back. By July 24 the S&P 500 found itself up a lofty 45% from its
Mar. 9 low, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 39% after breaking
through and closing above a key psychological barrier of 9000. Continue reading
P/E Multiples Reveal Attractive Stock Prices December 8, 2008 Many investors are looking for direction right now, as the U.S economy trouble intensifies and the bear market gets brutal. After the U.S. economy contracted a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter of 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) finally declared on December 1 that the U.S. economy has been officially in recession since December 2007. The economy is forecasted to keep shrinking until the early next year. Continue reading
Stocks fell to their 5 year low, Dow fell below 8,000 November 19, 2008 The
Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P closed at their lowest
levels since March 2003 on Wednesday amid renewed grim economic outlook
from the Federal Reserve and worries over the fate of Detroit's three
automakers. Investors are fear that the recession might be even more
lingering if the government is unable to bail out the troubled auto
industry. Continue reading
Greatest daily jump in history ended 8-day stocks bloodbath October 13, 2008 U.S. and international stocks sprang higher on Monday to end brutal week for stock market around the globe. A frantic weekend of international government actions bolstered confidence in the banking sector and credit markets. Continue
Global stock markets tumbled, Dow fell below 10,000 since 2004 October 6, 2008 Wall Street and stock markets worldwide tumbled Monday as financial crisis worries spread around the globe, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its biggest loss ever during a trading day before recovering to with a loss of 370 points or 3.58 percent. The Dow finished at 9,955.50, its first close below 10,000 since 2004. The Dow threshold of 10,000 was first set in 1999. Continue
Disaster Week on Wall Street & World Stock Markets October 11, 2008 After
a brief moment of relief, investors focused on their fears again. Panic
swept the global financial markets in the past five business days, Oct.
6 to Oct. 10. The result was a drawn-out bloodbath on Wall Street and
global stock markets. For
the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 1,900 points, or
18.2%, its worst week ever. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index
suffered 18.2% weekly loss, its biggest weekly decline since 1933.
Markets from Japan to Brazil to Russia tumbled as well. Continue | |
Equity volatility subsided, interest-rate volatility shot up
July 8, 2009 Confidence in equities is returning, but investors fret of inflation VIX (volatility index)
has slowly subsided and is now down to pre-Lehman levels, a sign that
investor confidence is returning. But as volatility has subsided in
equities, it has popped up in debts. The implied volatility of
interest-rate swap options has shot up in recent months, indicating
that investors are uncertain about long-term interest rates. Continue reading
Bear keeps ruling, U.S. Stock at 12-year low
February 28, 2009 U.S. major stock indexes sunk further and ended another unforgiving month of February with a steep loss that left the Dow Jones industrial average at less than half its record high and the S&P 500 at its 12-year low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 4.1 percent for the last week of February after breaking through its November lows previous week. The blue chips index was down 11.7 percent for February to 7,062.93. The loss is the worst since 1933, when it fell 15.6 percent, and its sixth straight monthly drop. Continue reading
Gauging stock value using P/E ratios November 25, 2008
Price-earnings ratio, or P/E, is one of popular tools for investors to value stocks or stock indices, whether their prices are cheap, expensive, or fairly valued.
Searching for bargain is more relevant in this turbulent bear-market when the broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index down more than 40 percent from its October 2007 peak. Long-term, value investors use the P/E ratio to get indication whether stocks are cheap enough to make them start buying. This simple gauge focuses on fundamental measures, which are earnings. The P/E ratio is calculated by dividing a stock's price (or the value of an index) by its annual earnings. Continue reading
Volatility Index At Record High: A Call For A Rally?
October 23, 2008
Analysts’ favorite measure of expected stock market volatility and investor anxiety, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the CBOE VIX, hit an intraday fresh high when it briefly topped 96.40 percent Thursday, Oct 23. The VIX eventually closed at 67.80 percent. Its highest close of 70.33 percent was set on Friday, Oct 17. Continue | |
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