Battered Markets Crawl Into 2009

Weary relief that 2008 was finally over greeted the final bell at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, but shaken investors worry about what 2009 holds, the New York Times reports. The final tally confirmed that the year was the worst for stockholders since the Great Depression. Stock plunges across the board wiped out the gains of the previous 6 years, erasing $7 trillion in wealth.

Analysts say the financial crisis has shifted the epicenter of the financial world from Wall Street to Washington. Investors desperate for a safe haven are snapping up secure but low-yield Treasury securities. Money managers—even ones usually firmly against state intervention—are looking to government policymakers to turn things around, although many fear recovery could take years.
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