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World Markets Tank in Wake of Bailout Passage; Dow Dips Below 10,000

Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet at 8:27 AM on October 6, 2008.


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Wow. Investors don't appear to be calmed ...

U.S. stocks plummeted in early trading today as economic turmoil rippled through Europe and investors questioned whether a bailout of the financial sector would be enough to prevent a global recession.
The Dow fell more 500 points mid morning but then retreated to more than 400 points lower by 11:18 a.m. It was the first time since October 2004 that the Dow fell below 10,000. The Nasdaq and Standard & Poor's 500-stock index were both down by 6 percent and by 11:18 a.m. had come back slightly, down 5 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively.
The day started with a negative momentum that has turned into a global panic, said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "It is just a realization that the global economy is going to be stagnant for the next 12 to 16 months" even with the rescue plan, Hogan said.
[...]
European officials are scrambling to bolster financial firms and Asian investors have grown worried that a global recession will undercut their export-dependent economies. Europe has been forced to prop up other banks in recent weeks. Markets in Asia and Europe were down from between 4 and 6 percent.
[...]

The price of oil fell as low as $88.89 a barrel in morning trading today, off its peak of $147 a barrel in July. The price of gold jumped as investors sought a safe haven from the market turmoil.
AP:
Britain's benchmark stock index, the FTSE 100, lost 220.11 to 4,760.14 _ a 4.42 percent fall. The declines were led by the banking industry, with the mining and oil industries also suffering drops. HBOS PLC's share price dropped 15.7 percent, while the Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC fell 13.6 percent.
Germany's DAX index fell 4.22 percent to 5,552.27. France's CAC-40 index dropped 4.85 percent to 3,882.81. In Russia, the RTS stock index tumbled more than 7 percent in first 20 minutes of trading.
[...]
Across Asia, all markets were also in the red. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index fell to its lowest level in 4 1/2 years, sinking 4.25 percent to 10,473.09.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slid 5 percent to 16,803.76. Markets in mainland China, Australia, South Korea, India, Singapore and Thailand also fell sharply. Indonesia's key index plummeted 10 percent, it's biggest one-day drop ever.
In Russia, the RTS stock index tumbled more than 7 percent in first 20 minutes of trading.
"Everyone is losing confidence," said Mark Tan, who helps manage about $20 billion of equities and bonds at UOB Asset Management in Singapore. "The problem now is that the lack of foreign confidence could affect the Asian consumer, which would lead to a bigger slowdown in Asia than expected."
[...]
Japanese financial companies and industries dependent on exports, such as steel, were especially hard hit Monday. Nippon Steel Corp. stock tumbled 9.8 percent, while Mizuho Financial Group was down 8.3 percent in morning trading.
Trading in mainland China resumed after a weeklong holiday break with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sinking 5.2 percent to 2,173 by midafternoon.
Banks and other financial shares saw heavy declines. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank fell 7 percent and Bank of China slipped 3.6.
Shares of Ping An Insurance Co. rose even after it said Monday it will record a US$2.3 billion loss on its stake in European bank Fortis in the biggest blow yet to a Chinese institution from the global credit crisis. Ping An's shares were up 1.6 percent.

Digg!

Tagged as: financial crisis

Joshua Holland is an editor and senior writer at AlterNet.


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That Bailout Sure Turned The Market Around!
Posted by: FoonTheElder on Oct 6, 2008 8:46 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Wow, that trillion dollar bailout sure turned around the markets! Now we are in a recession/depresssion, with a trillion dollars less to put towards policies that really DO make a difference.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» That Bailout, Keynsian market socialism at its worst Posted by: Libertarian Paternalist
» Banks don't want it Posted by: EJW
» RE: Banks don't want it Posted by: Libertarian Paternalist
» Thanks Posted by: pdxjoe
Poof
Posted by: QQOblivion on Oct 6, 2008 8:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If this gets you down: remember. It all is just money. Yes, people will die as a result of not being able to afford medical care, or because they commit suicide when their house is foreclosed on or when they lose their jobs, or because they are forced onto the street and must turn tricks to survive.
But I am not surprised that the rich investors don't even have the decency to say "thank you" for all that money we gave them.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Poof Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Poof Posted by: HoboHomo
That Cracking Sound That You Hear...
Posted by: gazooks on Oct 6, 2008 9:12 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
... is the extremely leveraged limb that we're out on. Don't look down if you're afraid of heights.

This isn't simply a crisis of banking and business, it's a cumulative systemic cultural failure. It's the wages of the sacrifice of good sense and humane consideration in the unbridled pursuit of something for nothing and the unavoidable result of a nations abandonment of morality.

We lost our way some time ago when we became that which we so righteously opposed in our revolution for freedom by usurping the freedom of others, the poor of the world. When we sought domination through economic advantage, when we threaten the world with our military force to secure our own material extravagance.

Dave Mason sang decades ago, "You Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave,... then we wouldn't be in this mess today, ...I know we've all got different ways, ...but the dues we've got to pay are still the same"...

Well, it's dues time folks. Let's hope we can salvage our national soul in its wake.

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Can we get our money back!
Posted by: bbauerly on Oct 6, 2008 11:11 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Time to abort the bailout, quick. Send the money to mainstreet.

Actually, the fact that global markets are shaking is a sign that the bailout succeded in its goal: to put downward pressure on the working class. The fact that US financial capital was able to get this thing passed showed the rest of the world how strong the US bourgeoisie are. Now they too must push down on workers to foot the bill for the crisis of profitability facing global capitalism (not realizing that it is the lack of effective demand that is causing the financialization and boom bust crises).

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So much for listening to chicken little......
Posted by: Spiritgirl on Oct 6, 2008 11:21 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
What Europeans realize because: (1)they read real newspapers written by real journalists, and (2)they also get more than corporate propagandist news - that gimme to Wall Street hasn't even touched the real problems! Things are going to get a lot worse before they (eventually) turn around! Unfortunately, it will be Main Streeters that suffer the most and the hardest! Whomever becomes the next President of this nation will inherit the worst economy since the Depression (thanks, idiot Bush)!

The lesson that we the people need to learn: pay attention to what these people are doing, read more newspapers, stop falling for the Ponzi scheme, Government in and of itself isn't bad, it's the IDIOTS and their IDEAOLOGY that suck! Stop voting for people because they: "culturally, morally, ideaology" say what you want to hear! The President isn't going to come to your house for dinner, I'd rather have someone in office that is an adult and has a clue, knows that Spain is not located in Latin America, than have another dim-witted, belligerent bully in the Oval Office embarrassing me and this nation! Bush was not the best choice we could have as a representative of we the people!

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Stock Up... Time To Flee
Posted by: Godfather89 on Oct 6, 2008 11:22 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Stock up not on stocks but On Food! On Supplies, winter is coming don't you think we need the food, the less people out their relying on government the less violence their will be at the breadlines.

Lets face it, this Bailout does not work the only thing we could do is let it be, yes credit would collapse, who cares? Credit is bad anyway! We need a free market and overthrow these "elected" officials as well!

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I heard on NPR this morning
Posted by: Illiteratilumen on Oct 6, 2008 11:33 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...that it would take 7 to 10 billion dollars to, in the words of the show's guest, "end homelessness in America". That's some perspective for you.

Every single person who voted for this bill needs to be voted out of public office.

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I heard on NPR this morning
Posted by: Illiteratilumen on Oct 6, 2008 11:33 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...that it would take 7 to 10 billion dollars to, in the words of the show's guest, "end homelessness in America". That's some perspective for you.

Every single person who voted for this bill needs to be voted out of public office.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

What actually needs to happen and why it won't
Posted by: NthnBrazil on Oct 6, 2008 12:21 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The bailout is a fraud and a smokescreen. It does not solve the root of the problem, but neither do most of the progressive plans put forth. There is a single solution to these problems: the establishment of exchanges for all financial instruments currently traded over the counter. This won't happen, however, because it is enormously complicated to explain to the uninitiated public ina soundbite, and the leaders of Wall St would rather be re-capitalized and attempt to work their way out of the hole that has been dug than allow transparent disintermediation of all capital markets.

For those interested, I will try to explain this as briefly as possible:

As crooked as most people think the stock market is, it is orders of magnitude less crooked than it was before the establishment of Stock Exchanges. The exchanges provide a central point for oversight and force companies to be transparent about how many shares are issued and what the market values are, There is no dispute over the value of a particlaur company's stock at any given snapshot in time and because the total # of outstanding shares is also known, there is no question as to the market capitalization. You may differ on what you speculate the company is "worth" but there is no question as to how much it "costs". Therefore, if you think a company is undervalued based on the share price, you buy it. Simple.

Derivatives on the other hand, are all traded Over the Counter (OTC), which means they are traded at whatever value two counterparties involved in a transaction decide, and as markets fluctate over time, the value of any of those assets issometimes as vauge as a judgement call. When a company has to announce its assets on a quarterly basis, it is up to them to decalre what their derivatives portfolio is worth, and they are free to over or under value these complicated assets depending on need. The more complicated the derivatives, the harder it is to objectively value. These instruments are called "derivatives" because they derive their value from other things, which adds a layer of complexity. An excahnge resolves this easily by creating a publicly known price for a derivatives contract, as well as an accounting of who is holding it and who sold it, thereby eliminating the possibility of over/under statement.

The worst example of this is the Credit Default Swap (CDS) market. A CDS is essentially an insurance policy on a debt. The buyer of the CDS pays quarterly premiums while the seller commits to pay back the full amount of the debt in the event of default. This whole contract is predicated on the idea that the buyer of the CDS actually has the underlying note the insurance is for, but they don't actually need to provide proof unless the loan defaults and they want to execute the CDS. Nobody verifies that the CDS is on real debt, and it is possible (even likely) that if you added up all the debt implied by the CDS market it would exceed the real debt.

So What? Well, all kinds of companies have CDS contracts on the books and report their value on their balance sheets. If someone big (like AIG) were to go under, any company that has CDS contracts on AIG, but not the underlying notes won't be able to collect, making that part of their CDS portfolio worthless, causing a domino effect. An exchange would prevent this by enforcing a check on whether or not the CDS covers actual debt etc etc.

The other problem solved is really the root of the current crisis - that of systemic risks. The problem with AIG wasn't so much that other companies had CDS contracts on their debt, but that they had written CDS contracts with AIG. If AIG went under, all those contracts become worthless, so either the premiums stop getting paid or the insurance you thought you had is gone.

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» 'Hank' Greenberg & Sons Posted by: weathered
The Bailout was never designed to end the credit crunch ...
Posted by: mmckinl on Oct 6, 2008 1:29 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It was designed to bail out wall street felons from the onslaught of hundreds of billions in lawsuits ... and criminal prosecution ...

The mystery has been solved.

For nearly a year, we have been asking ourselves why the investors and foreign banks that bought up hundreds of billions of dollars of worthless mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from US investment banks have not taken legal action against these same banks or initiated a boycott of US financial products to prevent more people from getting ripped off?

Now we know the answer. It’s because, behind the scenes, Henry Paulson and Co. were working out a deal to dump the whole trillion dollar mess on the US taxpayer. That’s what this whole $700 billion boondoggle is all about; wiping out the massive debts that were generated in the biggest incident of fraud in history. Rep Brad Sherman explained it like this last night to Larry Kudlow:
“It (The bill) provides hundreds of billions of dollars of bailouts to foreign investors. It provides no real control of Paulson’s power. There is a critique board but not really a board that can step in and change what he does. It’s a $700 billion program run by a part-time temporary employee and there is no limit on million dollar a month salaries……. It’s very clear. The Bank of Shanghai can transfer all of its toxic assets to the Bank of Shanghai of Los Angeles which can then sell them the next day to the Treasury. I had a provision to say if it wasn’t owned by an American entity even a subsidiary, but at least an entity in the US, the Treasury can’t buy it. It was rejected.

not one dime

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Fascist Take-over End Game
Posted by: 911FalseFlag on Oct 6, 2008 4:10 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Dear Patriots
Naomi sees the "writing on the wall" regarding the fascist takeover of this country. The bailout bill has a provision giving $100 billion to George Bush to use as he wishes. This bail-out Bill was pushed through Congress with threats of martial law if it was not passed. It was pushed through Congress just like the Patriot Act was pushed through Congress. Fear was the driving force. Fear is used by dictators to take control.

A military brigade from Iraq is being deployed on United States soil now to keep the peace. The Posse Comitatus Act, which forbade the deployment of military troops in this country to enforce the law, was thrown out by the Patriot Act. In 2006, when the Congress was taken back by the Democrats, the Democrats actually did something and reinstated this act. George Bush instead of vetoing it just signed another of his many " Signing Statements" Which Said That He Would Not Be Bound by This Reinstatement of the Posse Comitatus Act.

Prisons have been built across the country over the last several years by a subsidiary of Halliburton. Journalists were arrested at the Republican national convention. The Electronic Voting Machines Are in Place to Hack Another Election. The mainstream media is completely owned by five multi-national companies. The monetary policy of this country is controlled by international private central bankers which includes the Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of England.

George Bush must be arrested for treason before it is too late.

Watch Naomi Wolf talk about the fascist take-over being in its “end game” stage.Go to my website.


Sincerely,
Joe,Webmaster, www.911insidejob.net
E-Mail:911insidejob@bushstole04.com

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It was worse today.
Posted by: oregoncharles on Oct 6, 2008 11:04 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The Dow dropped 800 points, recovered to -369, and ended below 10,000. Other exchanges were worse.

The European banks are going down like tenpins.

It's going to be an exciting year.

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I think
Posted by: Grandma Crabby on Oct 7, 2008 8:38 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Bonnie and Clyde would be better stewards of our money than the crop of thieves in there now.

Luv,
Granny

Granny's crazy videos = Go get a chuckle!

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