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Today was easy to focus on. And it was highly unpleasant. It was all about financial stocks and the meltdowns and the merger and the bailouts. The huge drop in oil after Hurricane Ike didn't kill off the oil infrastructure didn't amount to anything at all. The beatings will continue, regardless of morale. The VIX hit 30 and that only helped for a brief bit. Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 10,954.07 (-504.48; -4.42%)
Nasdaq 2,186.66 (-81.36; -3.60%)
S&P500 1,198.32 (-59.01; -4.71%)
10YR T-Note 3.483% (-0.247%)
52-Week Lows
Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) led the carnage today. Richard Fuld held out for solid merger terms too hard and it now looks like he made the entire firm pay the ultimate price. It is filing for Chapter 11 and for all practical purposes is going bye-bye. Shares were down 94% at $0.20 right before the close.
American International Group (NYSE: AIG) is also on the ropes. Its shares were down 60% at $$4.78 immediately before the close. The leading insurance company in the world, or the former one anyway, is on the verge of collapse.
The New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX), saw shares down nearly 8% today to $36.38 in the final minutes of trade after the fears that brokerage firm implosions would destroy its core market playing customers.
Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) was earmarked today as another at-risk institution from the larger banks. Its stock was down 25% at $10.68 immediately before the close.
The stock not in the financial sector which took the same sort of beating was Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO). Its potential buyout has been formally withdrawn. Shares were down 24% at $16.55 right at the close.
This carnage in the financial sector is going to make alcoholics out of everyone if it spills too far over into the mainstream economy. At least New York City housing is about to become more affordable, even though getting a mortgage will be impossible.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-15-2008 @ 4:55PM
Pedro Kikis said...
I invested a shit load in AIG, approximetly 432,000 thousand dollars in it. This stock has totally fucked me over and I think I should commit suicide before my whole familty finds out because we are doomed. Unless this stock shoots up about 900%, I'm DONE!!!
ps: thanks a lot America...
9-15-2008 @ 11:04PM
Rich Brulato said...
No reason to panic!!!! This is just an overcorrection in the market.
9-16-2008 @ 12:21AM
goldstreak20 said...
If you are a broker in the Los Angeles area who lost your job because of this Lehman bankruptcy, contact me at goldstreak20 at aol dot com and I'll show you how to capitalize from your contact list with me.
10-10-2008 @ 5:35PM
james bunt said...
GE is next. No way will congress extend the $1.5 Billion per year tax break they get. See note ten in annual report. They paid $87 million in U>S> tax on $8.7 Billion in pre-tax U.S. income ... that's a 1% rate.
9-16-2008 @ 4:28AM
Jeff Johnston said...
Hey Pedro, I'm pretty sure that your family would rather have a poor Pedro than a dead one. Hang in there buddy.
9-16-2008 @ 5:43AM
Jeff said...
My Grandfather would roll over in his grave if he new that Wachovia was about to go tits up. He was one of the founders of First Union Corp, the only company my uncle had ever worked for before the merger. It's hit my family hard, but we'll survive. At least we won't owe much when Balack Obama raises the capital gains tax. I'm sticking with CD's for a while.