President Bush spoke at the White House Rose Garden this morning acknowledging that the country is facing financial pain. However, he was reluctant to mention Dow’s massive plunge, and did not provide many details on the administration’s plan to ease the countries pain.
"I know Americans are concerned about the adjustments that are taking place in our financial markets," noted President Bush. "We are working to reduce disruptions and minimize the impact on the [broader economy]. In the short run, adjustments in the financial markets can be painful, for people worried about their investments, and for employees of the firms."
Below is a list of recent economic developments from CNN.com.
Lehman: Lehman Brothers (LEH, Fortune 500) filed for the biggest bankruptcy in history after it failed to find a buyer, triggering a 95% stock plunge to 19 cents a share.
Merrill: Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) said it would buy Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) for $50 billion in stock, or $29. Merrill's stock surged 24% on the news to $21.20 a share, while Bank of America plunged 15% to $28.59 a share.
AIG: The stock plunged 44% to $6.89 a share for AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), after the insurance giant said it was getting ready to announce a restructuring.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co., described this as the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s and the railroad bankruptcies of the 1800s.
