There have been various developments over the past several weeks which investors may consider relevant in allocating their resources or evaluating alternatives that are available to them. Some of the more significant developments include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened the week at 7366 and, on Monday, plummeted 251 points. This marked the Dow’s lowest closing since 1997.
- On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebounded 236 points.
- On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average drops points.
- On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points.
- On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 119 points and closed the week at 7063.
- American International Group, the insurance giant that has already received $150 billion in federal aid, is apparently back asking for more.
- Spansion, a flash memory maker, will slash approximately 3,000 employees or 35% of its workforce.
- Micron Technology, the U.S. manufacturer of computer chips, is eliminating 2,000 jobs.
- Nokia is asking up to 1,000 employees to voluntarily resgn.
- London-based Lonmin PLC, a major producer of platinum, will lay off 18% of its workforce or approximately 5,500 employees.
- J.P. Morgan plans to slash 12,000 jobs in connection with its acquisition of Washington Mutual.
- Nortel Networks announced that it will eliminate 3,200 jobs worldwide.
- California’s unemployment rate rose to 10.1% in January. This figure may be overly optimistic since the unemployment rate calculation doesn’t include people limited to part-time work or several other categories of people without jobs.
- Ritz Camera Centers, the largest camera chain in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy protection.
- The Denver newspaper, Rocky Mountain News, closed after 150 years of reporting the news.
- Deposits at Swiss banks fell 27% last year.
- The government closed two more banks this week. Sixteen banks have now been closed since the beginning of the year.
- Merrill Lynch, which was recently acquired by Bank of America, lost $27.6 billion in 2008.
- More and more shoppers are becoming price conscious and flocking to discount stores.
- The credit crunch has even gotten to Warren Buffet. Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway announced that its book value dropped 9.6% last year, the worse drop in 44 years.
- The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States declined at an annual rate of 6.2% in the last quarter of 2008. This was the largest drop since 1982.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicts that 2010 will be a year of recovery.
- A recent survey concluded that the government’s intervention in the financial markets last year made people less confident about investing.
- Hotels and rental car agencies are being particularly hard hit by the economic downturn.
- New York Attorney General continued his investigation into the actions of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America in paying $3.6 billion in bonuses while receiving federal bailout money.
Page Perry’s Market Monitor is published periodically to give investors an overview of certain recent developments impacting the economy and/or the investment markets.