Stock markets didn’t do so well today. The WSJ reported “India’s index set a record with a 7.4% plunge and 5% or more was sheared off markets in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China.” Meanwhile, the US government said this, via Bloomberg:

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said in Washington today the government doesn’t comment on daily market moves. “We’re confident that the global economy will continue to grow, and that the U.S. economy will return to stronger growth,” Fratto said in an e-mailed message.

The Stoxx 600 slid 5.7 percent, extending its drop from a 6 1/2-year high on June 1 to 23 percent. A decline of more than 20 percent is the common definition of a bear market. France’s CAC 40 lost 6.8 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 sank 5.5 percent, and Germany’s DAX slid 7.2 percent…

The MSCI World Index slumped the most since 2002, while Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index sank into a bear market as Allianz SE and BNP Paribas SA slid. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index had its biggest drop in six years after BNP Paribas said Bank of China Ltd. may write down overseas securities by $4.8 billion because of losses from U.S. subprime mortgages. Citigroup Inc. retreated in Frankfurt.

The MSCI World slipped 3 percent to 1,394.23 at 4:47 p.m. in London, extending its decline from an Oct. 31 record to 17 percent. India’s Sensitive Index lost the most since 2004, while Germany’s DAX had its biggest loss since 2001. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index sank 4.5 percent…”It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Johan Stein, who helps manage the equivalent of about $14 billion

The administration fiddles. (WSJ: “As for Mr. Bush’s proposed stimulus plan…’the markets will look at the $150 billion figure and smile. They trade that in a morning’.”) The Fed, which is apparently going to wait a couple of weeks before it does anything, is fiddling in the rear view mirror. Does anyone smell smoke?

Final point: we’ll see whether Fratto’s email will prove memorable at some point this year.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 1:50 pm and is filed under business, General, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.