Logo

(Most of) the Candidates React to the Crisis

Published: Sep 18, 2008

 Finance       
The Economist breaks down John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s reactions to the latest wave of the financial crisis, Joe Biden isn’t sure if bailing out AIG was a good idea, and Sarah Palin isn’t blinking (or talking about her position on the crisis because she’s still not fielding any questions from the press).

As far as the stock market’s reaction, it had a lot to say today:  Thanks to a late-afternoon rally, the Dow rose by 410 points, nearly making up the 449-point loss it endured yesterday. The S&P 500, meanwhile, increased by more than 4 percent.

Making huge individual climbs were shares of Wachovia—up 60 percent on news that it’s in takeover talks with Morgan Stanley, signaling that investors think the deal would be a good one for the North Carolina-based bank—and the ailing thrift Washington Mutual—up 49 percent on news that it had put itself up for auction, meaning investors believe a strong savior will step in soon.

***