The weekend news was pretty apocalyptic and the blogs are buzzing. “Calculated Risk” ran a summary post which pretty much says it all:
This is a wild day for the financial markets. Here is a summary post (scroll down for actual posts):
UPDATE: from Bloomberg: Banks, Firms Set Up $70 Billion Fund for Liquidity
A group of banks including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are putting up $70 billion for a borrowing fund aimed at providing liquidity.
1) Lehman is expected to file bankruptcy before midnight ET.
2) AIG rejected private equity investment and has asked the Fed for help. A restructuring plan will be announced tonight or early tomorrow morning. Update: From the NY Times:
The American International Group is seeking a $40 billion bridge loan from the Federal Reserve, as it faces a potential downgrade from credit ratings agencies that could spell its doom, a person briefed on the matter said Sunday night.
3) BofA bought Merrill Lynch for $29 per share in stock.
4) The Fed has expanded its lending facilities, including accepting equities.
Here are some sources for stock market futures:
CBOT mini-sized Dow (more liquid than big Dow above).
Barchart.com indices futures. (make sure you look at the ones with times – not dates – in the time column)
Bloomberg Futures.
Note: today has been a VERY heavy news day, and I’m still digesting all the news – so I apologize for no analysis.
Everyone and their mom has been watching the Dow Jones futures like a hawk since they opened Sunday night. The following image was taken from Barry Ritholtz’s “Big Picture.”
Today has seen one of the largest gap down openings in history as traders are obviously hitting the “panic button.”
To quote Doug Kass (again): “This is what market bottoms look like.”
Sources:
Summary Thread: Lehman, AIG, BofA Buys Merrill, Fed Initiative
Calculated Risk
September 14, 2008
Live Blogging CNBC Lehman Show
Barry Ritholtz
The Big Picture
September 14, 2008
Time to Get More Bullish
Doug Kass
TheStreet.com
September 4, 2008