Investors around the world raced for the proverbial exits yesterday.
Traders in the U.K. suffered their biggest one-day point loss ever. The FTSE 100 fell a record 391 points, or 7.8%. France’s major index, the CAC 40, fell 9% -- its second worst day on record.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index plunged 11% -- its biggest daily percentage decline since Black Monday 1987.
For its part, the Dow plunged below 10,000 for the first time in four years. At its lowest, it had fallen 800 points, a record single-day point decline. By day’s end, it managed to eke out a 369-point loss, a mere 3.6%. The Dow opened this morning at its lowest level since November 2003.
In response, the Federal Reserve cut its main lending rate by 75 points last night -- they just didn’t tell you. The Bernanke clan is now offering funds to banks at 1.25%, well below its target rate of 2%.
The Fed also introduced another new auction facility.
The Fed’s new fund will be used to buy distressed commercial paper. By buying up corporate bonds, asset-backed debt and similar instruments, the Fed hopes to de-ice a market that thousands of companies use to fund payrolls, pay debts and meet other cash needs.
The Treasury will fund a yet-to-be-named Federal Reserve account with a yet-to-be disclosed amount of money. Heh.
The total commercial paper market has a value of about $1.6 trillion… today. That’s roughly equal to the amount of Treasuries the Fed has exchange for worthless mortgage-backed securities in anno Domini 2008.
Traders in the U.K. suffered their biggest one-day point loss ever. The FTSE 100 fell a record 391 points, or 7.8%. France’s major index, the CAC 40, fell 9% -- its second worst day on record.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index plunged 11% -- its biggest daily percentage decline since Black Monday 1987.
For its part, the Dow plunged below 10,000 for the first time in four years. At its lowest, it had fallen 800 points, a record single-day point decline. By day’s end, it managed to eke out a 369-point loss, a mere 3.6%. The Dow opened this morning at its lowest level since November 2003.
In response, the Federal Reserve cut its main lending rate by 75 points last night -- they just didn’t tell you. The Bernanke clan is now offering funds to banks at 1.25%, well below its target rate of 2%.
The Fed also introduced another new auction facility.
The Fed’s new fund will be used to buy distressed commercial paper. By buying up corporate bonds, asset-backed debt and similar instruments, the Fed hopes to de-ice a market that thousands of companies use to fund payrolls, pay debts and meet other cash needs.
The Treasury will fund a yet-to-be-named Federal Reserve account with a yet-to-be disclosed amount of money. Heh.
The total commercial paper market has a value of about $1.6 trillion… today. That’s roughly equal to the amount of Treasuries the Fed has exchange for worthless mortgage-backed securities in anno Domini 2008.
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