Stock Markets Sink

Photograph of specialist Peter Mazza at the NYSE by Richard Drew/AP

The three U.S. stock indices fell 4% or more today: Nasdaq was down 3.99%, the S&P 500 dropped 4.66% (closing at 700.82) and the Dow Jones lost 299 points, closing at 6,763 points, its lowest level since 1997.

A strategist told the NY Times "It’s pretty despondent everywhere. O.K., there are signs that some of the leading indicators have stabilized to some extent, but it’s at a very, very low level, and we’re not seeing corporate investment picking up, or consumers starting to spend again — in other words, the traditional mechanisms by which economies come out of a recession are absent at this time."

The big news of the day was AIG: After announcing a $61.7 billion loss last quarter (after receiving $150 billion in support from the government), the insurance giant secured another $30 billion bailout from the feds and offered up a restructuring plan. AIG CEO Edward Liddy also told CNBC he wasn't sure if AIG would need another bailout in the future (related). Now, former AIG head Hank Greenberg is suing his old company for fraud; Clusterstock explains, "Greenberg says that mirepresentations by the company caused him to overpay for the stock."

Another strategist told the Wall Street Journal, "Investors finally understand this recession will be deeper and longer, and the recovery will be shallow. And the government doesn't have a sense of any solution that might instill confidence."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 2, 2009 5:25 PM

Comments [rss]

Zyskandar A. Jaimot

'the OBAMA' as PRISSY in Gone-With-The-Wind'/HILLARY naturally as Mistress SCARLETT

***scene - the evil economic wind swept through leaving millions injured/dead prostrate on stretchers awaiting carastrophe***

take 1 - action

'The OBAMA' as PRISSY crying, weeping:"Miss SCARLETT Ise dunno nothin about no STOCK MARKET."

HILLARY with her asbestos-pants-suits paid for by the Jews she has just sold-out slaps the uppity Negro house servant PRSISY in the face:"SHUT-UP FOOL. Just 'rig' the cattle-futures option's market with someone else's money like I did - and all of us 'insiders' will make bucks!!!"

***scene end - the destruction of 'free' capitalism in AMERIKA***

Posted by Jaimot's Jargon at 4:00 AM

Zyskandar A. Jaimot

to all ALL DEMBHOLE-DOUCHESBAGS + other 'the OBAMA' supporters---

'Why hasn't 'the OBAMA' cut any GOVERNMENT JOBS???

With all the 'problems' with the economy and private businesses 'laying-off' workers - why hasn't PREZ BARACH'incurably-dishonest'OBAMA laid-off/furloughed GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES to lessen our TAX BURDEN??? Why is 'the OBAMA' planning to hire from 100,000 to 250,000 new workers that we the TAXPAYERS must pay for??? If PRIVATE CAPITALISM has to make job cuts to meet budgets - why WHY DOES NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of the new STALIN 'the OBAMA'???

jms2qc

Largest bailout amount ever, above Bank of America and Citigroup based on this video's awesome research: http://www.newsy.com/videos/aig_gets_another_30_000_000_000/

Is it over yet?

PathToWisdom

The era of No Money is coming.

All of us gets a ration like China citizens do.

And If you are a good engineer like Scotty, who works for Captain Kirk, then you get a better home, and better food, and maybe then you get an Ipod.

Zyskandar A. Jaimot

To all of you - did you realize that you can bet DOWN as well as UP on the exchanges??? Oh sorery that is probably too much info for DEMBHOLE DOUCHESBAG DROIDS!!! ALL THE SHORT SELLERS HAVE BEEN PLACING 'PUTS' EVER SINCE THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES KNOWING THE DEMBHOLES WOULD EITHER ELEKT BUTTHEAD BARRY OR HILLARY WITH HER "...ASBESTOS PANTS-SUITS"!!! Youse guys/gals just ain't that bright - butt youse all have 'classical edeekations'. Ha.

JacqueMehoff

Blue horseshoe loves anacot steel.

Zyskandar A. Jaimot

You DEMBHOLE-DOUCHESBAG DROIDS really do not get it!!! As MORICI the economist from somewhere i think it's RUTGERS or some other college/university said yesterday:"The difference between TIM GEITHNER(new head of TREASURY)and PAULSEN is - one was on the 6th floor of GOLDMAN-SUCKS(the MOB brokerage house) the other was obn the 7th!!!" NOT TOO MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO DEMBHOLE-ASSHOLES. Investing hell no - it is merely placing a bet by another name. And this cuntry has bet wrong in allowing PREZ BUTTHEAD-BARRY-the-1st to implement his SHARE-the-WEALTH GUILT TRIP for DEMBHOLES+MINORITIES!!!

Qraymond

You know, I think we finally found the guy that those "drunken negro cookies" were being marketed to...

Zyskandar A. Jaimot

to Qraymono - Never had 'NegroCookies' is that anything like an OBAMA-OREO black-on-the-outside-and-white-on-the-inside??? DOES 'the OBAMA' drink too - to come up with these SOCIALIST SHITTY SCHEMES???

Felix Hoenikker

Bah. It's really Jen C. or John S. having fun with you and drumming up comments.

matty

Nicely worded. Succinct, yet cutting. I'm going to forward this to the New Yorker.

bagelman

since when does sarkozy work on the floor of the exchange?

Dean Witter

Where's the great Bloomberg to tell us this is a buying opportunity? IIRC if you do some research you'll find him making such statements (at much higher market levels) during a mini-crash some 4 or 5 years ago. Guess this time he's investing in real estate.

anny

yes .u are right ,the sstock market is full of risk !

shamanovsky

Kramer's take http://www.cnbc.com/id/29468599

matty

Wow. That's some "take." Why that man is allowed to comment on anything finance related is beyond me.

I bet if there was a "Cramer index" an investor would have lost as much money investing in it as a Madoff ponzi scheme.

SP

There actually is a Cramer index of sorts. If you follow his advice you have about a 50% chance of breaking even. Over the last two years or so, before the crash, even, you would have lost money following his advice. He is a worthless tool, and a joke in the real finance world. He does wield some power though since so many morons watch his show and actually follow his advice, it has a definite short term effect on the stocks he "analyzes." Sort of along the same lines as pump and dump schemes, except he's not doing anything malicious. He just has a media created following among armchair day trading amateur investors. It's well documented, you should look up the Cramer effect.

Bottomless Chips

There actually is a Cramer index of sorts. If you follow his advice you have about a 50% chance of breaking even. Over the last two years or so, before the crash, even, you would have lost money following his advice. He is a worthless tool, and a joke in the real finance world. He does wield some power though since so many morons watch his show and actually follow his advice, it has a definite short term effect on the stocks he "analyzes." Sort of along the same lines as pump and dump schemes, except he's not doing anything malicious. He just has a media created following among armchair day trading amateur investors. It's well documented, you should look up the Cramer effect.

Considering the armchair investor watches CNBC at that time of day, to argue there's any effect on the markets is laughable.

All of the brokers and traders are commuting back to their Fairfield county or Chicago suburban homes by then.

But I've watched Cramer, and his general theme is actually quite sound; it's a theme that the average Joe should follow: A large cap that has a high yield. That's the only true investment in equity markets. Everything else is just speculation. When you receive the big dividends from Coke, McDonald's or BP---you're investing and doing so for the long term, not the short. So if you played the safe Cramer investments, you'd still be down from '08 but not 80% like some and you have would a nice bit of cash from the dividends.

NannyState

He talks up a stock one day then apologizes to the poor idiots in Peoria that went with his pick the next, when it falls 12%. Cramer just buys what he reads on the wires and hears from the grovelling execs that pollute his studio. At the end of the day, fuck Cramer.

Mr Mel

The one thing you can bet on is guys like Greenberg don't walk around looking for dimes in the street. I hope you don't think he's the Detroit Tiger slugger Hank Greenberg who was a Captain in the U.S. Army Air-Force during WWII. He died in 1986.