The S&P 500 financials sector, which includes banks, brokerages and insurance firms, fell 18% in February on top of January's 26.3% decline, for a total decline of 39.6% in the first 9 weeks of 2009.
Read MoreUS stocks rallied 24% between the low set November 20th and January 6th. However, the release of universally dismal economic reports in the United States dropped stocks over 11%, leaving the S&P 500 down 7.4% on the year, and down 47.0% from the record high set in October 2007.
Read MoreIt's hard to overstate how much damage was done to the world's financial systems over the last 4 months.
Read MoreIt was another challenging month for stocks, with three month returns from August 31st through November 20th the worst in 80 years. On November 20th, US stocks closed at a level last seen in April 1997.
Read MoreUS stocks made a 1 month high on November 4th as the 2 ½ year long US presidential election finally came to a close with the widely anticipated election of Barack Obama.
Read MoreAs bad as September was for stocks, October was worse. US investors sold a record $56.0 billion in stock mutual funds in September and set a new record for sales of $70.7 billion in October.
Read MoreEarlier this month, we described the "Great Margin Call of 2008" where investors worldwide sell not because they want to, but because they have to.
Read MoreStocks began the day 1.5% higher following a good earnings report from IBM. As it typical of the whole week, some investors used the opportunity to sell into strength. Even so, by 2PM, the S&P 500 was close to unchanged.
Read MoreLast week the US stock market delivered the most dramatic losses and gains since 2002. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. Substantial changes have occurred, however, in the fundamental financial system of the United States.
Read MoreStock futures reacted poorly to the news that Lehman would not be purchased either by Barclays Bank or Bank of America and would instead enter bankruptcy.
Read MoreAugust delivered a modestly positive month for stocks, which have been down 7 of the last 11 months since stocks peaked in October 2007.
Read MoreIn July, credit woes extended to the strongest participants in housing finance - Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae (originally Federal National Mortgage Association) was established as a "government sponsored entities" (GSE's) in 1938 to help Depression era homeowners to obtain mortgages
Read MoreLast month, we wondered whether the solid recovery from the March lows was the calm after the storm, or the eye of the hurricane.
Read MoreOf the dozens on economic reports we receive each month, many, particularly consumer and business confidence, were hitting lows not seen since the 1991 recession.
Read MoreWith each passing week, March 17th looks more and more the bottom of the current stock market bear market (peak to trough, the S&P 500 fell 19.7%, the NASDAQ and most international indices fell over 20%).
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