London shares in biggest fall since 9/11 (from UK Guardian)

[Elspeth]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jan/21/marketturmoil.equities


Shares in London plunged today following heavy losses in Asia overnight, as intensifying fears over the state of the US economy triggered a wave of selling and talk of market meltdown.

The FTSE 100 index of leading shares was a sea of red, opening nearly 3% lower this morning and steadily ploughing new depths.

It closed at 5578.2 points, down 323.5 points or 5.48% on the day. That is the biggest percentage fall since September 11 2001, and the largest fall in points terms ever, wiping tens of billions of pounds off the value of Britain's biggest companies.

Miners and financial institutions were among the biggest fallers, as investors were unimpressed by a stimulus package for the ailing US economy announced by George Bush on Friday.

Only four FTSE 100 companies ended up higher than they started the day, led by insurer Friends Provident. It finished 3.6% higher at 158p after US private equity firm JC Flowers confirmed it was considering a takeover bid.

Northern Rock was a rare riser on the FTSE 250, gaining 46% to 90.8p on the back of the government's plan to turn its loans into bonds.

Tim Hughes, head of sales trading at IG Index, said it had been an "incredible day of trading"....

[Elspeth]

1. Just kicking

:kick:

[Elspeth]

2. Shameless kick again

But this is important

[bluesmail]

31. Agree, so K & R

on edit, thanks Dick and George.

[Klukie]

3. K&R

[DemReadingDU]

4. afternoon kick

[endarkenment]

7. later afternoon kick

[lpbk2713]

5. Uh - oh

Congrats to BushCo. Your war on the middle and lower classes is close to its final victory.

[femrap]

20. Remember the bumper sticker:

End World Hunger. Eat the Rich.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

6. I read someplace that it was a £77 billion loss.

To put it in perspective it's over 150 billion US dollars.

[formercia]

10. Which is equal to Junior's stimulus package.

Too little, too late.

..and Junior says, "Baby, have I got a package for you."

[formercia]

8. Meanwhile, Gold is off $15.90

Having to sell to cover losses.

I bet the margin calls are coming in fast and furious.

[fascisthunter]

9. Anyone Have a Guess How the DOW Will Do Tomorrow?

tank?

[tekisui]

13. The consensus seems to be a 400-700 point drop.

Some are saying up to 1000+.

Markets in Asia, India and Europe dove 3-8%.


But, that won't be the bottom. No good news on the horizon. I think this is the beginning.....

[fascisthunter]

15. gawd

the LEFT was right AGAIN! Yet we were called Chicken Littles.... I'm so sick of dishonest stupid people. :mad:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. Asian markets still have another round to go before US markets open

I'm interested in seeing what happens there.

[tekisui]

17. Do expect any rally.

Or more loses. More loss, mild or severe, will make Tues. even more ominous.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

24. The current buzz is that the Bank of China is expected to announce a write-down of $7.95 billion

It's in relation to subprime exposure in the US. This fueled some of the panic selling that caused these drops in Asia and Europe.

Right now there are investors across the world looking to the US to see how they plan to clean up the mess their economy just made on aisle 5.

One thing you can be sure of is there's a crew of economic janitors who will be working overtime tonight. I just hope they have plenty of buckets 'cause this credit crisis is leaking everywhere.

No matter what Asian and European markets do in their next session, this isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

[femrap]

19. Looking at this in a somewhat

optimistic way....this could be the end of 'Greed is good.' People are actually going to have to find out that Consumerism and Materialism are not the road to heaven and happiness. And of those fake preachers out there telling people that God wants them to have BMWs and be successful...well, run the assholes out of town.

[renate]

25. I see what you're saying...

There are definitely people who could stand to learn that lesson. But the vast majority of those who'll be hurt are regular folks who've been doing what they've been told--to save and invest--and whose humble retirements are looking a lot humbler now.

[femrap]

29. Someone said that in times like this....

one wants as little as possible between one's money and her/himself.

I was shocked to learn that many pension plans do not have the option of a money market account....something that does not fluctuate in value. Doesn't seem like they are taking their fiduciary responsibility seriously...

For those that can, I hope they can move their pension $ into a safe, stable investment.

I guess I have seen so much greed and consumerism that I forget that there are people out there who do work and save and drive a older car that gets good mileage. I guess I figure that those people will be in very safe and secure investments...they know what this crazy greed is going to bring.

[Rex]

11. Thanks George and Dick, you fucktards really screwed us good this time.

Hey GOP, take a walk off the nearest cliff for humanity's sake!

[lpbk2713]

12. Don't EVER forget ....

... the rethuglicans had control of all three branches of government for seven years.

There's no fuggen reason we shouldn't be living in a paradise by now.

[Rex]

14. I second that, fuck a tax refund I want my paradise voucher NOW!

Fuck, they LOST 8 BILLION dollars at the beginning of Gulf War II! Sent 14 billion dollars IN CASH to Iraq in 2003! GONE!

8 BILLION, thanks Dick.

Thank you George, no telling how rich you made the top tier.

Assholes, give me my paradise lost!

[formercia]

18. TSX (Canada) down 604.99 (4.75%)

http://www.tsx.com/

even worse:

S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index

down 8.70%

[mdmc]

21. I have a question regarding this

Why don't the uber rich just buy up all the stocks after they crash? The market will barely change, or will make gains, and the economy will look like it is doing well.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. The stocks will have been bought by someone today

just at lower prices. If they weren't being bought at all, the offered prices would have dropped so much the markets would have had to suspend trading.

[mdmc]

23. I understand

thanks.

One more thing, if you would be so kind. Couldn't the super rich just buy up the stock to solidify the market? If this slide continues, couldn't a group of rich investors step in and buy everything up and make everything "all right"?
How much power do the wealthiest 5% have over the overall economy? Can they make it all better?

[formercia]

26. The rich will be waiting to pick over th carcass when it stops moving.

That's how they stay rich and get richer.

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. Well, they could, I suppose

but everyone in the market does it for profit. Each player will judge what the price is at which they can buy, and make a profit, in the end.

The thing to remember is that the markets aren't the economy themselves - they are a 'commentary' on the economy, effectively, though, eventually, the confidence of the markets does have some effect when investors are asked to put money into new ventures, or extra money into existing companies. That's when this starts to effect the actual economy, in terms of numbers of people employed.

[AngryAmish]

27. 'cause nobody has that much money

[Elspeth]

30. The uber rich cash in--then they do buy up cheap stocks

and run up the price, make you buy them and then let them crash so you'll sell them cheap.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

33. Where do the rich get the cash to buy with, have the rich/smart sold high and will now buy low?

I really don't understand, are the rich better at timing the markets or do they lose a boatload of cash too when it tanks? I'm sure some very smart and lucky wealthy people have their assets in cash right now so they can make a timely move to buy but aren
t many also losing value? It would seem that most wealthy people invest for the long term and are not hurt or panicked by these types of short term downturns. Or do the rich operate from a position of prescience or access to info that the rest of world lacks entry to? Do the rich have money managers that have moved them out of harms way and will now make timely decisions to buy low? Just curious as to how the rich win in this type of market climate?

[formercia]

32. Time to pick up some bargains this afternoon

Be happy! Fearless Leader is on the job. :sarcasm:

[JCMach1]

34. Panic journalism ... can you say pump and dump??? FTSE is down by just .5%

as of this post... DAX is the big loser in Europe... down 1.5%