The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war. It will end eventually when home prices stabilise and with them the value of equity in homes supporting troubled mortgage securities.
The S&P 500 index of financial stocks has already lost one fifth of its value this year and shares in many investment and commercial banks, such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers have shouldered even bigger losses.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Sunday that it is buying troubled Wall Street firm Bear Stearns.
The deal values Bear Stearns at $236 million, or just $2 a share. Shares had closed at $30 on Friday, down 47 percent that day.
Some analysts expected to be a brutal day for global stocks. Short-sellers could have a field day with bank stocks.
Asian stocks fell sharply Monday as uncertainty grew following an announcement that one of the world's biggest investment banks was being bought for a fraction of its former value.
The Federal Reserve, in an extraordinarly rare weekend move, took bold action Sunday evening to provide cash to financially squeezed Wall Street investment houses, a fresh effort to prevent a spreading credit crisis from sinking the U.S. economy.
Asian stock markets fell and gold prices hit a record high by this surprise rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve failed to calm investors panicked by the demise of Bear Stearns.
The euro meanwhile vaulted to a record peak over $1.58, up nearly 1 percent on the day.
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