Monday, October 6, 2008

Chronicles Of Depression 2.0: #316: Down

Global markets in meltdown as FTSE suffers worst one-day fall in its history
The London Stock Exchange suffered the worst one-day fall in its history today as the global economic crisis plumbed new depths.

The FTSE fell by a massive 7.8 per cent when Wall Street opened before rallying slightly to close down 363.1 at 4617.2.

Any hopes the turmoil would be eased by the U.S. finally agreeing a £400billion bail-out for its crippled economy on Friday were swept aside as panic spread.

After huge falls around the world, the Dow Jones in New York fell more than 500 points in early trading to dip below the 10,000 threshold for the first time in four years.

In Europe, Germany's shock decision to issue a 100 per cent guarantee for all savings unleashed chaos around the continent.


Sweden, Austria and Denmark all followed suit today, prompting urgent calls for the Government to do the same or take a stake in major banks to stabilise the system.

Economist Ruth Lea said: 'Desperate times call for desperate measures.' CMC Markets analyst James Hughes added: 'I've never seen anything like this. What we are seeing over the last few weeks is a once in a lifetime event.'

Emphasis added by me.

Flashback to my post of March 3, 2008: When Will It Sink In That We’re Sunk?
Get used to hearing that phrase — I never thought I would see anything like this in my life — because you’ll be hearing it over and over again. Some of you will be saying it!

Ahem.

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