In this series, we take a look at the 25 stocks on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) that have turned in the worst performance during the past decade -- what went wrong, and what happens next.
Spoiler alert: Wachovia Corporation (NYSE: WB) is not the first financial stock we've scraped off the bottom of the S&P 500 barrel, and it will not be the last. You've already been treated to the gruesome horror stories of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY); now, gather 'round the campfire to hear another spine-tingling, blood-curdling tale of subprime mayhem and write-down-related bloodshed.
What went wrong? At number 17 on our list of SPX underdogs, WB shed 73% of its value during the decade that ended June 30, 2008. And, if it weren't for that cutoff date, Wachovia might have snagged an even higher ranking on our roster. From its June 30 close at $15.53, the stock dropped as low as $7.80 by July 15.
The shares hit an all-time high of $65.94 in July 1998, and tapped their near-term peak of $60.04 in April 2006. After this last achievement, WB crawled west-by-southwest for more than a year, and did an amazing impression of a harmless downleg within its larger uptrend -- you know, until the whole subprime thing.
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Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 1 
Closing Bell: A six-day rally (AIG, REGN, M, MOT, PALM, RIMM)
