The Year in Finance

2008: The Year in Finance

2008 was a year of change. Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president after a grueling campaign season, and inherited the worst financial mess in decades. Here are some of the financial highlights and low-lights of the past year. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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The Year in Fina... 2008 was a year of change. Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president after a grueling campaign season, and inherited the worst financial mess in decades. Here are some of the financial highlights and low-lights of the past year. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Oil Prices Rise…... The price of oil changed quickly throughout 2008. January saw oil prices cross $100 per barrel for the first time and rise to a high of $147.27 on July 11. Despite experts claiming that gas prices would stay high forever, oil dropped below $40 in December, its lowest price in years. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Phelps Brings Ho... The world was captivated by Michael Phelps during the summer of 2008 as he won eight gold medals at the Olympic Games, the most golds ever captured at a single Olympics. Since then, Phelps has used his fame to make millions endorsing everything from Subway sandwiches to Kellogg's Corn Flakes. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
The Dow Gets a M... The Dow Jones Industrial Average shuffled its components when several companies in the index lost their position as economic bellwethers. Bank of America Corp. and Chevron Corp. replaced Altria Group Inc. and Honeywell International Inc. in February. In September, Kraft Foods replaced struggling insurer American International Group Inc. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Delta-Northwest ... In April, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. announced that the two carriers would combine to form the world's biggest airline. This merger would have been big news anytime, but it created an even bigger stir as airlines struggled to deal with the economy and rising oil prices. (AP Photo/David Kohl)
Microsoft, Yahoo... Microsoft Corp.'s courtship of Yahoo Inc. has the potential to change the Internet... if the two companies can ever close a deal. Early in 2008, Microsoft's $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo was rejected, but as Yahoo continues to fall apart a partnership of some sort looks more and more likely. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Housing Crisis C... Unprecedented sub prime loan write-offs against a landscape dotted by foreclosures caused U.S. home values to fall steadily all year. (AP Photo/Marianne Armshaw)
Bank Failures Ap... Starting with the near-collapse of Bear Stearns in March and continuing through the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Washington Mutual Inc. in the third quarter, U.S. consumers saw their confidence in once-trusted financial institutions vanish. (AP Photo/Jin Lee)
Stocks Hit Steep... The perfect storm of sagging corporate profits, weak consumer confidence, and the global credit crunch forced stocks to swoon. The benchmark S&P 500 has fallen roughly 40 percent in 2008, and is poised for its biggest annual drop since 1931. (AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer)
Credit Crunch Cr... The historic collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the near-downfall of American International Group Inc. triggered a freeze in the market for corporate credit. Government intervention has just recently begun to help thaw things out. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
International Ri... Stock markets and GDP readings across major world economies have followed the U.S. into the abyss. Additional government intervention was deemed necessary in the European Union, China, and other major international markets. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Auto Sales Hit R... Hit by the one-two punch of high oil prices earlier in the year and the credit crunch that intensified in September, auto sales went into the tank, forcing the Big 3 automakers to beg for $17.4 billion in rescue loans from the White House. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Bank of America ... This year Bank of America Corp. took advantage of turmoil in the financial markets by adding another slice to its growing financial-services empire. With its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co., Bank of America can now offer everything from fixed-income trading to credit-card lending. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Firms Trade Prof... 2008 saw the conversion of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, the only two major investment banks left, into bank-holding companies. The move subjects the companies to more regulation, but promises them a more stable source of funding. The trade-off: regulation promises to crimp the companies' risk-taking and profits. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Layoffs Skyrocke... Companies across all sectors of the U.S. economy, including Citigroup Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc., and Ford Motor Co., have been cutting back on workers. Unemployment-benefits claims remain near the highest level since 1982, even though the labor force has grown by about 50 percent since then. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Manufacturing In... The U.S. manufacturing index reported activity that fell to a 26-year low. The reading is a firm indication that the U.S. is in a recession. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner)
Fed Cuts Rates A... Ben Bernanke and the Fed shuffled the deck for more flexibility by slashing key interest rates on several occasions. The Fed's actions had substantial effects on global finances, particularly those of New Zealand and Australia. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
SEC Whistles Cub... 2008 brought some unwanted attention for spotlight-loving billionaire Mark Cuban when the Securities Exchange Commission accused him of insider trading. According to the SEC, Cuban dumped 600,000 shares of the search engine Mamma.com Inc. after learning about private financing that the company was proposing to avoid losing $750,000. The penalties for Cuban could add up to $3 million and not surprisingly, he is fighting the charges. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Obama's Economic... Barack Obama ran on a platform of change, but the economy never figured to be such a big part of his presidency until he was elected. Obama has surrounded himself with experienced experts like Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers as head of the National Economic Council, and Paul Volcker as head of a new Economic Recovery Advisory Board. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Big 3 Go to Wash... On the heels of the government's Wall Street bailout, the Big 3 automakers-General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler-went to Washington to ask for help. After executives stumbled through one of the worst public-relations gaffes ever (taking three private jets on their trip to beg for funding) President Bush announced $13.4 billion in emergency loans in December to prevent the collapse of GM and Chrysler. (AP Photo/Ron Lewis)
Bernard Madoff's... Bernard Madoff, the former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market and the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested and charged late in 2008 with allegedly running an elaborate "Ponzi scheme." In what could turn out to be the largest fraud case ever, Madoff is accused of losing $50 billion of investors' capital. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Retail Sales Sli... Sagging consumer confidence and reduced access to credit led to slowing sales at many major U.S. retailers. Electronics giant Circuit City announced hundreds of store closings and filed for bankruptcy protection. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)