Market Plunges on News of Lehman Bros Bankruptcy

All financial analysts pointed to the confluence of several very troubling events concerning the stability of large financial institutions.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Not since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has Wall Street experienced the kind of catastrophic losses it experienced on Monday, September 15, 2008. The Dow Jones industrials fell 504 points and the NASDAQ fared poorly as well as the final trading bell sounded.

All financial analysts pointed to the confluence of several very troubling events concerning the stability of large financial institutions.

Lehman Bros. (LEH) filed for Chapter 11 reorganization. In other words, it filed for bankruptcy. The largest insurance company in the world based in the United States, AIG, is teetering on financial collapse and desperately seeking a buyer. The huge regional banking company, Wachovia (WB), also appears ready for collapse without assistance.

All eyes are on Tuesday's opening bell to see whether the instability continues in the American market.

The Bush Administration is seeking a way to assist AIG, asking Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for assistance in raising additional capital. Tomorrow, Goldman Sachs will report on its own financial stability with its fiscal-third-quarter earnings report. Additionally, it is strongly reported that the Federal Reserve will meet and lower interest rates, cutting the federal funds rate from its current 2%, to 1.75% or even lower.

Finally, in the continued run of bad financial news, Bank of America's purchase of former financial giant Merrill Lynch did not seem to add any sense of hope for a recovery, at least soon.

As the campaign for the Presidency heats up in this final stretch there is no doubt that economic issues will be catapulted to the forefront. Both campaigns issued immediate statements concerning this continuing decline in the financial stability of the market.

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