Financial Crisis Timeline: March 2009
March 2nd 2009: AIG reports $62 billion quarterly lossUS insurer AIG has reported $62 billion loss for the last quarter of 2008.
March 3rd 2009: Dow falls below 7,000Dow Jones Industrial Average fell down below 7,000 points for the first time since 1997, after AIG reported a $62 billion quarterly loss. Legendary investor Jim Rogers asks AIG to be allowed to go bankrupt rather than making America bankrupt.
March 3rd 2009: Buffet’s Berkshire to cut jobs
Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, which recorded its worst financial year ever in 2008, will cut more jobs this year. The company laid off workers in several of its subsidiaries from 6% to 16%.
March 4th 2009: Tycon Electronics to cut 20,000 additional jobs
Pennsylvania based electronic company Tycon Electronics has announced it would cut additional 20,000 jobs worldwide.
March 6th 2009: Unemployment rate jumps to 25 year high
The US unemployment rate has reached 8.1% which is the highest in the past 25 years. Unemployment in the US now stands at 12.5 million.
March 6th 2009: Stocks slide
Dow Jones Industrial Index closed at 6,512 points as adverse unemployment figures come out.
March 6th 2009: Unemployment rate in Silicon Valley reaches 9.4%
The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley has reached 9.4% as the total number of unemployed in the Santa Clara – San Benito county area reached 897,000.
March 6th 2009: Job cuts at IBM
In recent weeks, IBM has laid off 4,600 workers. However, the company is following the policy of having scattered and quiet layoffs, probably to avoid the radar of news agencies.
March 6th 2009: GM stock continues to fall
GM stock is trading at $1.28, the lowest level since April 1993 mainly due to increased speculation that the company is edging closer to bankruptcy.
March 6th 2009: Undisclosed losses at Meryl lead to probe
Meryl Lynch declared a loss of $13.8 billion in the final quarter of 2008 but it did not became clear on paper until Bank of America’s share holders approved the merger of the two corporations and Meryl paid $3.6 billion in bonuses. This has lead to a trading probe inside Bank of America.
March 6th 2009: Dow Chemical and Rohm and Haas in merger talks
Dow Chemical and Dow and Haas have announced that the two companies are locked in merger talks, however they cannot predict the outcome of these talks.
March 10th 2009: Delta Airlines to cut capacity
Delta Airlines will cut its international capacity by an additional 10%. The Airlines announced 6% cut in capacity in December 2008.
March 10th 2009: Hedge Funds to cut 20,000 jobs this yearA Wall Street recruiting and compensation firm has said that hedge funds could cut as much as 20,000 jobs this year as the outlook for investment managers look dim.
March 10th 2009: AT&T to invest and add jobs
AT&T will add 3,000 jobs to its wireless, broadband and video business and invest $17 billion to $18 billion this year.
March 11th 2009: Credit card rewards being slashed
Credit card issuers ranging from Citigroup to JPMorgan Chase are slashing rewards, increasing interest rates and increasing fees as loan losses mount. Last month American Express, the largest credit card company in terms of sales volume, asked some client to take $300, pay off their debt and close their accounts.
March 3rd 2009: Dow falls below 7,000Dow Jones Industrial Average fell down below 7,000 points for the first time since 1997, after AIG reported a $62 billion quarterly loss. Legendary investor Jim Rogers asks AIG to be allowed to go bankrupt rather than making America bankrupt.
March 3rd 2009: Buffet’s Berkshire to cut jobs
Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, which recorded its worst financial year ever in 2008, will cut more jobs this year. The company laid off workers in several of its subsidiaries from 6% to 16%.
March 4th 2009: Tycon Electronics to cut 20,000 additional jobs
Pennsylvania based electronic company Tycon Electronics has announced it would cut additional 20,000 jobs worldwide.
March 6th 2009: Unemployment rate jumps to 25 year high
The US unemployment rate has reached 8.1% which is the highest in the past 25 years. Unemployment in the US now stands at 12.5 million.
March 6th 2009: Stocks slide
Dow Jones Industrial Index closed at 6,512 points as adverse unemployment figures come out.
March 6th 2009: Unemployment rate in Silicon Valley reaches 9.4%
The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley has reached 9.4% as the total number of unemployed in the Santa Clara – San Benito county area reached 897,000.
March 6th 2009: Job cuts at IBM
In recent weeks, IBM has laid off 4,600 workers. However, the company is following the policy of having scattered and quiet layoffs, probably to avoid the radar of news agencies.
March 6th 2009: GM stock continues to fall
GM stock is trading at $1.28, the lowest level since April 1993 mainly due to increased speculation that the company is edging closer to bankruptcy.
March 6th 2009: Undisclosed losses at Meryl lead to probe
Meryl Lynch declared a loss of $13.8 billion in the final quarter of 2008 but it did not became clear on paper until Bank of America’s share holders approved the merger of the two corporations and Meryl paid $3.6 billion in bonuses. This has lead to a trading probe inside Bank of America.
March 6th 2009: Dow Chemical and Rohm and Haas in merger talks
Dow Chemical and Dow and Haas have announced that the two companies are locked in merger talks, however they cannot predict the outcome of these talks.
March 10th 2009: Delta Airlines to cut capacity
Delta Airlines will cut its international capacity by an additional 10%. The Airlines announced 6% cut in capacity in December 2008.
March 10th 2009: Hedge Funds to cut 20,000 jobs this yearA Wall Street recruiting and compensation firm has said that hedge funds could cut as much as 20,000 jobs this year as the outlook for investment managers look dim.
March 10th 2009: AT&T to invest and add jobs
AT&T will add 3,000 jobs to its wireless, broadband and video business and invest $17 billion to $18 billion this year.
March 11th 2009: Credit card rewards being slashed
Credit card issuers ranging from Citigroup to JPMorgan Chase are slashing rewards, increasing interest rates and increasing fees as loan losses mount. Last month American Express, the largest credit card company in terms of sales volume, asked some client to take $300, pay off their debt and close their accounts.
March 16th 2009: Oil trades up as stocks rally
Oil price rose above $47 per barrel as stocks in US and other parts of the world rallied. OPEC has decided to observe the current curbs in oil supply more strictly rather than introducing new curbs.
March 16th 2009: Barnanke sees recovery in the beginning of 2010
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has suggested that the US recession might last for more the full year and the economy may begin to recover by the beginning of 2010.
March 16th 2009: Homebuilder sentiment unchanged in March
The National Association of Homebuilders announced that the Homebuilder sentiment remained unchanged in March (at 9) near historic lows, one point off the all time low in January 2009. Index readings below 50 indicate negative sentiment.
March 16th 2009: US industrial output lowest since 2002
According to government report, US industrial output fell for the fourth consecutive month in February 2009 and is at the lowest point since April 2002.
March 16th 2009: New York Manufacturing Index at record low
According to a survey, manufacturing production in New York State fell to yet another record low in March 2009 as new orders and investments diminished.
March 16th 2009: SAP lays off workers
SAP laid off an undisclosed number of workers as part of its previously announced plan to lay off 3,000 jobs. The rumors are that the layoffs were made at SAP’s Palo Alto California lab.
March 17th 2009: Nokia to lay off further 1,700 jobs
Nokia Corp. will cut further 1,700 jobs world wide in order to cut costs.
March 17th 2009: Caterpillar cuts another 2,454 jobs
Caterpillar announced to cut 2,454 jobs in three states in US, the bulk of which (nearly 1,600) will go in Illinois
March 17th 2009: Housing posts surprise reboundThe number of new apartments and homes started in February jumped 22% from January to a seasonally adjusted figure of 583,000. All parts of the country reported increase apart from the West that was hit the most with the housing crisis.
March 17th 2009: Anger over AIG bonuses
Politicians and public are demanding for answers after the disclosure that AIG paid $165 million in bonuses to its executives as the company was kept afloat with tax payers’ money.
March 19th 2009: US workers on jobless benefits hit record high
The US workers drawing state unemployment benefits scored another record high early this month. However, the number of people filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 646,000 in the week ended March 14th.
March 20th 2009: Finnair to temporarily lay off 1,600 workers
Finnair announced it would temporarily cut 1,600 jobs starting next month and double its savings program.
March 20st 2009: US budget deficit to be projected at $1.8 trillion
The US budget deficit is expected to be projected at $1.8 trillion by the Congressional Budget Office for the fiscal year 2009 ending in September 30th. This will complicate Obama’s plan for a $3.55 trillion budget for 2010. Nominal GDP is projected to have a 1.5% drop.
March 21st 2009: Romanian transport ministry plans to cut 12,000 plus jobs
Romania’s transport ministry has plans to cut 12,139 jobs in the railway system
March 21st 2009: EU pledges new money for IMF
EU pledged $500 billion to IMF but did not announce any government spending plans to fight global economic slowdown.
March 22nd 2009: World Bank: Global recession is WWII like
World Bank’s head Bob Zoellick has said that the global recession is WWII like. He said the global economy will shrink up to 2% and stimulus packages could spark another crash in financial markets.
March 24th 2009: China suggests creating super sovereign reserve currency
Ahead of the G20 summit, the governor of China’s central bank has proposed the formation of a super sovereign reserve currency as part of reforms in international monetary system. This would decrease the dependence on one currency to provide more stability in the future. Last week, same call was heard from Russia.
March 24th 2009: IATA says world airlines to suffer $4.7 billion in 2009
International Air Transport Association has said that airlines are expected to lose $4.7 billion in 2009. This figure is a revision of the estimated $2.5 billion predicted by IATA last year.
March 25th 2009: Japan’s exports halved
Japan’s exports declined by 49.4% yea-on-year plunge in February 2009 which also marked the fourth month running of record export decline. The imports were down by more than 40%.
March 25th 2009: Hospira to layoff around 1,700 employees
Hospira will cut around 1,700 jobs in the next two years at Lake Forest pharmaceutical and medication-delivery concern.
March 26th 2009: HSBC staff in UK face potential layoffs
HSBC has announced that around 1,200 HSBC workers in UK face potential layoffs following an operational review of its business.
March 26th 2009: US treasury secretary proposes sweeping overhaul of financial system
US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner has proposed to overhaul US financial system. The proposal includes regulating hedge funds, private equity and credit default swaps.
March 27th 2009: IBM to layoff 5,000 workersIBM has told its employees it plans to lay off 5,000 workers this week.
March 27th 2009: KV Pharmaceuticals to lay off around 1,700 employeesThe St. Louis based pharmaceutical company KV Pharmaceuticals plans to layoff around 1,700 employees which would mostly affect North Texas.
March 27th 2009: Agilent Technologies to cut 2,700 jobsSanta Clara based Agilent Technologies will cut 2,700 jobs or 14% of its work force. Its Electronic Measurement Group makes instruments for testing networks, cell phones and other electronic equipment.
March 29th 2009: Norway to offer $4.56 billion to IMF
Oil-rich Norway has said it is ready to offer $4.56 billion to IMF and wants the institution to play a bigger role in monitoring financial markets.
March 31st 2009: GM’s CEO says bankruptcy possible
GM’s CEO Frtiz Henderson said the company could file for bankruptcy before the 60-day deadline set by the government to restructure itself.
March 31st 2009: Global banks to write down $17 billion more in 2009
J. P. Morgan Securities forecast global wholesale and investment banks might incur additional pretax write downs of $17 billion for the rest of 2009 to reach market-to-market valuations of structured credit assets.
