The Merciless Bloody Slaughtering of Bear...
Today was one of those days when you start off thinking you've seen it all.... and the market proves you wrong with an unbelievable kick in your ass.
I've seen my fair share of rallies and crashes from sector moves, huge portfolios being bought and sold, Fed chairmen and Presidents opening their mouths when they shouldn't, but I can't recall a time when I've seen a spectacle like the one today. It really was quite a sight to behold - it's not an Internet startup that suddenly had its balance sheet exposed, not a dwindling dying American airline or car company - but an 85 year-old company and the fifth-largest investment bank in the States. And the stock lost almost half its value today - within the first hour of trading even.
Cratering was the word we used to frantically describe what we saw in that first hour of madness. The news tells you that financials, and the market as a whole, was dragged down, but honestly when you look at the horrific way that the price was just utterly vaporized in this one name - and the raw speed with which it happened, the other financials, and the entire market as a whole seriously seems entirely insulated from it by comparison.
But don't you dare take off those seat belts. There's no way this is over, not by a longshot. No one - save a select few, perhaps, know what to expect in terms of the final fate of the badly bleeding, battered, hobbling but not dead Bear that basically had both its legs, at least one arm, and an eye ripped out of its socket today. And as for the markets as a whole, we still haven't seen a real endgame there either in terms of stability, and we won't anytime soon.
The real spectacle to watch today, at least for me, was the unbelievable way that a super large-cap name completely melted down, completely independently. I don't think even Enron melted down like this in one single day (I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression it was more of a continual gradual decline). I still think comparatively the broader market as a whole did hold its own - all things considered, when you look at just how bad the meltdown was.
No doubt we're still in for a bumpy ride, but I just can't imagine more meltdowns like the one we saw today - whether they're single name ones as we saw today or broader market ones.... I really hope I'm right about this, but only time will tell....
I've seen my fair share of rallies and crashes from sector moves, huge portfolios being bought and sold, Fed chairmen and Presidents opening their mouths when they shouldn't, but I can't recall a time when I've seen a spectacle like the one today. It really was quite a sight to behold - it's not an Internet startup that suddenly had its balance sheet exposed, not a dwindling dying American airline or car company - but an 85 year-old company and the fifth-largest investment bank in the States. And the stock lost almost half its value today - within the first hour of trading even.
Cratering was the word we used to frantically describe what we saw in that first hour of madness. The news tells you that financials, and the market as a whole, was dragged down, but honestly when you look at the horrific way that the price was just utterly vaporized in this one name - and the raw speed with which it happened, the other financials, and the entire market as a whole seriously seems entirely insulated from it by comparison.
But don't you dare take off those seat belts. There's no way this is over, not by a longshot. No one - save a select few, perhaps, know what to expect in terms of the final fate of the badly bleeding, battered, hobbling but not dead Bear that basically had both its legs, at least one arm, and an eye ripped out of its socket today. And as for the markets as a whole, we still haven't seen a real endgame there either in terms of stability, and we won't anytime soon.
The real spectacle to watch today, at least for me, was the unbelievable way that a super large-cap name completely melted down, completely independently. I don't think even Enron melted down like this in one single day (I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression it was more of a continual gradual decline). I still think comparatively the broader market as a whole did hold its own - all things considered, when you look at just how bad the meltdown was.
No doubt we're still in for a bumpy ride, but I just can't imagine more meltdowns like the one we saw today - whether they're single name ones as we saw today or broader market ones.... I really hope I'm right about this, but only time will tell....
posted by jamah at
11:10 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah it was very scary. Looks like they are going to be bought out by JP Morgan.
By
Orenji8, at 16 March, 2008 20:04
Post a Comment
<< Home