February: Worst Month Since 1933

It's official.

The S&P 500 has fallen 53 percent from its high back in October of 2007 and has now seen its worst six-month drop in percentage terms - 42.7 percent - since 1932.  In that year, it fell 45.44 percent within a span of six months.

A late flurry of selling activity finished off a dismal month for the stock market, which hit a 12-year low itself on Friday as Citigroup sold a bigger piece of itself to the government and G.E. slashed its dividend, spooking investors who were already ready to start jumping off of skyscrapers.

All told, 36 corporations in the S&P 500 have slashed their dividends since the mid-September implosion of Lehman Brothers, ushering in an epic financial crisis that has only gotten worse ever since.

That pace of reductions is unheard of across any 3 or 4 month period - and more cute are probably coming.

Hey, that Depression Cooking show really IS a good idea!

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Technorati Tags: Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, Recession 2009

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