The market bounced a bit as 2008 turned to 2009 - investors were buying as they looked forward to a clean slate, a new presidential administration, and a final resolution to the disaster on Wall Street.
In late September and early October of 2008, there was massive failure in the investment banking system. Some examples included the government bailout of insurer AIG, the acquisition of Wachovia Bank by Wells Fargo, and the merger of Merrill Lynch with Bank of America. The financial crisis led investors to leave stocks for safer investments, like Treasury bills and bonds, causing a major drop in major indices like the S&P 500.
The U.S. government's announcement that it would lend troubled indsurer AIG up to $85 billion to save its business was met with enthusiasm in the markets. Stock prices rose as investors gained confidence that the government would back or even buy some of the poisonous assets that have brought down major firms like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in recent weeks.
The stock market responded positively to news that the Fed and Treasury would take over mortgage insurers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Shareholders of both firms suffered, however, as the two entities could not stay afloat amid the storm of defaulted loans and worthless subprime mortgage backed securities that have dragged down the entire financial system in 2008.
When the U.S. federal government passed a bailout plan on 10/3/08, preparing to buy up to $700 billion in troubled assets from financial services firm, it was expected to boost stock prices and restore investor confidence in the markets.The opposite happened - the S&P and Dow Jones, the two major U.S. indices, plummeted all week. A large part of the issue was news of similar, large scale government interventions elsewhere in the world, including Britain and Germany. The ripple effect of the 2008 Financial Crisis has wide range.
WTC attacked by terrorist.
