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Ghoul:
Nova velika ekonomska kriza?

Meltdown in US finance system pummels stock market



By PATRICK RIZZO and JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writers

NEW YORK - The upheaval in the American financial system sent shock waves through the stock market Monday, producing the worst day on Wall Street in seven years as investors digested the failure of one of its most venerable banks and wondered which domino would be next to fall.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 500 points, more than 4 percent, its steepest point drop since the day the stock market reopened after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. About $700 billion evaporated from retirement plans, government pension funds and other investment portfolios.

The carnage capped a tumultuous 24 hours that redrew U.S. finance. Lehman Brothers, an investment bank that predates the Civil War and weathered the Great Depression, filed the largest bankruptcy in American history. A second storied bank, Merrill Lynch, fled into the arms of Bank of America.

It was by far the most stomach-churning single day since a financial crisis began to bubble up from billions of dollars in rotten mortgage loans that have crippled the balance sheets of one bank after another and landed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under the control of the federal government.

"We are in the middle of a deep, dark recession, and it won't end soon. Here it is, and it is pretty nasty," said Barry Ritholtz, who writes the popular financial blog The Big Picture and is CEO of research firm FusionIQ.

And the fallout was far from over. American International Group, the world's largest insurer, was fighting for its very survival: New York Gov. David Paterson moved to allow the company to tap one of its subsidiaries for an emergency loan to stay above water.

"AIG still remains financially sound," Paterson said, even as the company's stock tumbled almost 60 percent. Almost $20 billion was wiped off AIG's balance sheet on Monday.

In Washington, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who refused to toss a financial lifeline to Lehman, was unapologetic as the Bush administration signaled strongly that Wall Street shouldn't expect more rescues from Washington.

The American people should remain confident in the "soundness and resilience in the American financial system," Paulson told reporters at the White House.

Six months ago, Paulson moved to prevent the collapse of Bear Stearns, brokering a deal for JP Morgan Chase & Co. to buy the firm at a fire-sale price with Federal Reserve backing. Earlier this month, he stepped in to help the government seize Fannie and Freddie in hopes of reversing the housing and credit crises.

But Monday, Paulson said he "never once" considered it appropriate to put taxpayer money at risk to resolve the problems at Lehman Brothers, which was saddled with $60 billion worth of soured real estate holdings.

The result was one of the most momentous days in Wall Street history since legendary banker J. Pierpont Morgan helped broker the rescue of financial markets during the Panic of 1907.

The Dow industrials dropped 504.48 points to close at 10,917.51, the first time since July they have finished under 11,000. It was the sixth-largest point drop ever and the worst since Sept. 17, 2001, when the average fell 684.81 points on the first day of trading after the terror attacks.

In percentage terms, the fall for the Dow on Monday was its worst since the summer of 2002. The index has shed nearly a quarter of its value since its record high last October.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost more than 4 1/2 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index lost more than 3 1/2 percent.

Financial stocks fell as investors worried about the strength of banks' balance sheets. Washington Mutual Inc. 27 percent to $2 a share, while Wachovia Corp. fell 25 percent to $10.71.

While Lehman Brothers was filing for Chapter 11 and AIG was scurrying to find financing to stay afloat, Merrill Lynch was avoiding a similar fate with a $50 billion transaction to become part of Bank of America Corp.

The deal would create a financial giant rivaling Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank in terms of assets. Bank of America has the most deposits of any U.S. bank, while Merrill Lynch is the world's largest and most widely recognized brokerage.

"It was an opportunity of a lifetime," said Ken Lewis, Bank of America's chairman and CEO.

Lewis made the announcement at a news conference where he was flanked by a smiling John Thain, Merrill's chief executive. The two put the deal together in 48 hours, while they were taking part in marathon discussions at the New York Federal Reserve over the weekend to save Lehman Brothers. Merrill stock rose a penny Monday.

One huge concern is that the Lehman bankruptcy will probably trigger even tighter credit — making it more difficult for everyone from large companies to small businesses to American homebuyers to borrow money.

It was a dark day for Lehman workers, too. Many of them brought gym bags, shopping totes and Lehman travel bags to cart home personal files and pictures from their desks at the company's midtown Manhattan headquarters. Gawkers lined up behind metal barricades, and bystanders took pictures with their cell phones.

The failure of Lehman and probable job losses at Merrill are also a blow to the New York City economy, which is still trying to absorb a blow from shrunken tax revenues after the collapse of Bear Stearns in March. The city and its outlying suburbs rely heavily on taxes paid by workers in the financial services industry.

In marathon sessions Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, government officials and the chief executives of major U.S. and foreign banks huddled at the New York Fed's fortress-like building in downtown Manhattan, trying to work out a way to save Lehman.

They failed at that. But a group of 10 banks that includes JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup formed a $70 billion pool that banks or brokerages can tap to cover short-term funding needs.

There were also worries that Lehman's problems would infect other financial companies and spread to global stock markets, further harming the U.S. and global economies.

The Fed meets Tuesday to decide interest rate policy. It's widely expected to keep rates at 2 percent, but some economists believe it could lower them to soothe Wall Street's frazzled nerves.

The financial turbulence could also further derail consumer confidence in the economy just as stores prepare for the critical holiday shopping season. The upheaval in the financial system also means that those consumers with marginal credit history will have an even harder time getting loans, cutting into consumer spending.

"The backdrop even without this was tough. This certainly adds to the worry level," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at The International Council of Shopping Centers.

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain assailed "greed and corruption" on Wall Street and promised to clean it up, while his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, blamed White House policies and said his opponent would only deliver more of the same.

Obama called it "the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression." McCain declared in a new TV ad that "our economy is in crisis" and that only he and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, could fix it. McCain also told voters in Jacksonville, Fla., "The fundamentals of our economy are strong."


šta vele ekonomski stručnjaci i politički analitičari sa ovog foruma???

Tex Murphy:
Nadajmo se da jeste. Smrt Americi, sloboda šumama!

tragac:
Pre 40 godina, isao sam u osnovnu skolu, pamtim jos iz tog vremena da je Amerika "pocela da propada" (predpostavljam da je pocela i ranije)... I tako, do danasnjih dana, svako malo, Amerika propada... A svo to vreme mi smo "zemlja u razvoju", i to pod razlicitim nazivima, "buducnost je pred nama", isto pod razlicitim nazivima...napredak, progres, bratstvo i jedinstvo, tekovine revolucije....idi mi - dodji mi... Nama je sve bolje! A, Amerika propada, iz godine u godinu...
Ko je ovde lud?
Kada cemo prestati da prizivamo nevolje drugima? Ili, da se njima nasladjujemo? Kada cemo se okrenuti svojim nevoljama?

"...uglavnom, kuga je bila uspeh za njega, jer, od usamljenog coveka, a sto on nije zeleo da bude, ona je stvarala saucesnika. I to saucesnika koji se nasladjuje..."   Kami, "Kuga"

Cornelius:
Po recima Josepha Stiglitza, američka finansijska kriza neće imati amplitudu one iz 29-e godine. Umreženi kapital je stvorio ne samo globalne finansijske proizvode, nego i zaštite, pa će se tako šteta ograničiti.

Je si li sada mirniji, Ghoule, kada si saznao istinu i to ne bilo koju, nego od vrhunskog stručnjaka?

scallop:

--- Quote from: "Cornelius" ---Po recima Josepha Stiglitza...
--- End quote ---


Sad znamo kako cvrkuće Štiglic. A, šta su rekla "dva vrana Gavrana"?


--- Quote from: "Cornelius" ---Je si li sada mirniji, Ghoule, kada si saznao istinu i to ne bilo koju, nego od vrhunskog stručnjaka?
--- End quote ---


Ne daj se, Ghoule! Poklonike horora ne treba da teše "ružičaste" i "narandžaste" vizije. Za njih znamo šta proizvode. Daj nešto crnpurasto...! Tvoj fan će da ti delne jednu mrčnu:

Gore navedeni cvrkutan pod spasonosnim globalnim umrežavanjem svetskih ekonomija misli da ekonomija SAD neće da rikne sama, kao prošli put. Ima svi da riknu, neće tamo neki Nikkei, Dax ili, ne dao Črnbog, neki Belef da preživi ako Dow Jones pukne. Jest', pa da bude 1$=1dinar, a prosečna plata 33.000 hiljade!
Pošto pored gravitacije na Zemlji postoji i otpor vazduha, što znači da postoji terminalna brzina, SAD ima nekoliko vrsta padobrana koji će usporiti stvar:
1. Ima da nađemo Higsov bozon - "božansku česticu", pa će da prodajemo 25$ funtu;
2. Samlećemo Aljasku i iscediti i poslednju kap nafte iz tamošnjih uljanih škriljaca (koje smo mi u Srbiji zaboravili da postoje i kod nas, pa će oni morati da dođu kod tebe u okolinu da to iscede);
3. Možda će Rusi da udele pola Sibira, pa da cedimo odatle. Nekako ne idu napori da se u Sibir uđe preko Koreje, Vijetnama, Kambodže, Irana, Avganistana, Iraka... a onaj Zulu Šaka cvili i nije ni za šta... Frak!
4. Onaj posao sa akcijama bez vrednosti nikako ne ide. Malo, malo, pa nam rikne neki Enron, Merril Linch, a o avio kompanijama da ne govorimo. Kako je krenulo, za deset godina jedini transport preko Okeana će ići preko Pirata sa Kariba (Kolumba nismo zombirali na vreme, a za Škote znamo da će da plivaju), a i to će voditi ona komunjara Džoni Dep ili neki južno od Kariba, koji hoće da nam skoro mufte isporučuju trave, a neće da poseku Amazon ili nam bar daju naftu...
5. Još ako poverioci budu tražili da vrate dugove koje smo napravili štampajući petrodolare, ima sve da izbombardujemo, pa da pokrenemo New Deal. Za to znamo da funkcioniše, a i svetska populacija će biti podnošljivija.

A, sad, "nešto sasvim drugačije"
1. pošto će globalno zagrevanje da potopi Holandiju i Belgiju, Srbija ima k'o od šale da dobije saglasnost o primeni Prelaznog Sporazuma i time konačno budu zadovoljni oni koje su "prešli".
2. Mrka će završiti koridor 10 (od Horgoša do Paprikaša), na kome ćemo napasati stoku, jer ko će voziti kola bez goriva? Železnicu ima skroz da rasturimo, umesto nju da sredimo. Šine već kradu, a ni pragovi nisu za bacanje. Ima da vozi jedino Kustin ću-ću trejn, ako mu sve ne razbiju lokalni hilbili i usput mu istegnu uši (da skiči dok ga vozaju). Po ostalom delu Srbije, bez ko-zna-čega-sve imaju da saobraćaju magarci, jer to uspešno gajimo i usavršavamo.

Jel' OK, šefe? Mogu ja i bolje! Za svako mesto gde se ugasi ima po nekoliko mrakova... Da napišem ja Prokleti sa Prokletija?

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