Published: August 10, 2011

The Stock Market Then ... and Now

Comparisons have been made between the financial crisis and stock market plunge in 2008 and the current downturn on Wall Street. Back then, troubles in the housing market and losses in mortgage lending spurred a full-on panic after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Credit markets froze, which worsened an economy already in recession. From May 2008, when the charts here begin, to March 2009, stock prices dropped more than 50 percent. This year, the S.& P. 500 has fallen about 18 percent since May, as concerns over government debt in the U.S. and Europe and weak economic growth around the world have mounted. Here is how the two periods compare across a number of market measures. Related Article »

The New York Times