Decade 2000's Market Data-Part III
More Decade in Review data from Direxion Funds.
OUT OF BUSINESS – The 10 largest bankruptcies in US history (based upon assets held at the time of the bankruptcy filing) occurred during the decade of the 2000s (source: BankruptcyData.com). Comment: Enron, AIG, and Lehman Brothers are the poster children for corporate malfeasance in this decade.
THE WORST STORM - Hurricane Katrina struck the southern coast of the USA on 8/29/05. Katrina had winds of 175 mph, caused more than 1,300 deaths and inflicted at least $80 billion in damages, the costliest storm ever in US history (source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Comment: I went down with my church to work two summers in Biloxi which took a direct hit from Katrina. Everything 600 yards in from the shore was gone. Pictures never did justice to the damage! Those people are just now getting back to normal almost 4 1/2 years later! God bless em!
PRICEY HOMES - The nationwide median sales price of new homes sold in the country during March 2007 reached $254,000, an all-time record high (source: Census Bureau). Comment: Housing is looking like it is starting to bottom as a combination of demand, affordability and lower interest rates are starting to eat through the supply.
BIGGEST SCAM - A magazine article questioning the legitimacy of Bernie Madoff’s investment strategy (titled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) appeared in print on 5/07/01, 7 ½ years before his record-setting Ponzi scheme was discovered in December 2008. Total customer losses in the scam were $19.4 billion (source: Barron’s). Comment: Madoff could have easily been discovered if investigators had really been willing to take a look at what he was doing.
RECORD DEBT - During fiscal year 2009 (i.e., the 12 months ending 9/30/09), the US collected $2.1 trillion of tax receipts and spent $3.5 trillion, resulting in a $1.4 trillion deficit, an all-time record (source: Treasury Department).
posted by CR English at 6:52 AM
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