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Log inFrantic day ends on a note of relief
Frantic day ends on a note of relief
by Outspoken on Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:37 am
Frantic day ends on a note of relief
The Dow avoids steep losses, and the Treasury may step in to help insurers short on cash
By KEVIN G. HALL and JACK CHANG
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The global financial crisis deepened on yet another frantic Friday as the Treasury Department weighed expanding its rescue efforts to include insurance firms and investors everywhere sought refuge amid strong signs of a coming global recession.
Stock markets around the world took another pounding, with Asian exchanges losing double-digit percentages again. U.S. stocks zigged, then zagged on another volatile day of trading, but didn't crash as some had feared.
Although the Dow closed down 312 points, 3.6 percent, shares of giant insurers rose Friday on word that the Treasury might expand its planned cash injections for banks to include life insurers, on the grounds that like big banks, they're too important to fail.
"This is in line with Treasury's plan to increase confidence in the nation's financial institutions," said former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, president and chief executive of the American Council of Life Insurers. "Life insurers want to make sure consumers don't delay acting on their financial and retirement security needs out of concerns prompted by current economic conditions."
Wall Street traders started the day with a nervous eye on how far stocks would have to fall before triggering emergency trading shutdowns. They ended the session relieved, even though the Dow Jones industrial average had its lowest finish since the financial crisis began six weeks ago.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia had plummeted, and oil prices plunged past their lows for the past year to $64.15 a barrel. Major indexes declined more than 14 percent in Russia and were ordered closed until Tuesday.
Dow futures – a bet, before trading opens, on where stocks would go – had plunged 550 points Friday morning, triggering a temporary trading stoppage.
"This is beyond volatile. It is chaotic," Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a morning note to clients. "This is the kind of day when the central banks step into the market with an 'unexpected' interest rate move to calm things down."
Instead, it was just another day's loss, one in a series since mid-September that have erased nearly $7 trillion in value from stocks.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=217889&ac=PHnws
Photos From The Associated Press
The Dow avoids steep losses, and the Treasury may step in to help insurers short on cash
By KEVIN G. HALL and JACK CHANG
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The global financial crisis deepened on yet another frantic Friday as the Treasury Department weighed expanding its rescue efforts to include insurance firms and investors everywhere sought refuge amid strong signs of a coming global recession.
Stock markets around the world took another pounding, with Asian exchanges losing double-digit percentages again. U.S. stocks zigged, then zagged on another volatile day of trading, but didn't crash as some had feared.
Although the Dow closed down 312 points, 3.6 percent, shares of giant insurers rose Friday on word that the Treasury might expand its planned cash injections for banks to include life insurers, on the grounds that like big banks, they're too important to fail.
"This is in line with Treasury's plan to increase confidence in the nation's financial institutions," said former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, president and chief executive of the American Council of Life Insurers. "Life insurers want to make sure consumers don't delay acting on their financial and retirement security needs out of concerns prompted by current economic conditions."
Wall Street traders started the day with a nervous eye on how far stocks would have to fall before triggering emergency trading shutdowns. They ended the session relieved, even though the Dow Jones industrial average had its lowest finish since the financial crisis began six weeks ago.
Stock markets in Europe and Asia had plummeted, and oil prices plunged past their lows for the past year to $64.15 a barrel. Major indexes declined more than 14 percent in Russia and were ordered closed until Tuesday.
Dow futures – a bet, before trading opens, on where stocks would go – had plunged 550 points Friday morning, triggering a temporary trading stoppage.
"This is beyond volatile. It is chaotic," Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a morning note to clients. "This is the kind of day when the central banks step into the market with an 'unexpected' interest rate move to calm things down."
Instead, it was just another day's loss, one in a series since mid-September that have erased nearly $7 trillion in value from stocks.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=217889&ac=PHnws
Photos From The Associated Press
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
