AG, impressive stuff.... truly turbulent times. The Russian markets are extremely chaotic.
-------------------
AIG Leads `Unlucky 13' Stocks to $1 Trillion Loss: Chart of Day
By David Wilson
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc. and a dozen more U.S. companies have collectively lost the equivalent of Switzerland's stock-market value so far this year.
The CHART OF THE DAY shows the declining fortunes of the ``unlucky 13,'' as described by Howard Silverblatt, an analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York. Members of this group have had the biggest declines in value among S&P 500 companies.
Their capitalization tumbled by about $1 trillion through yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The figure exceeds the $988 billion value of the Swiss market, among the world's 10 largest by this gauge.
``The takeaway is that we are in a crisis,'' Silverblatt wrote yesterday in an e-mail. ``The current situation looks like nothing I've ever experienced,'' including the inflation-driven losses of the mid-1970s, the crash of 1987 and the 2000-2002 bear market.
AIG, the country's largest insurer by assets, led the group's retreat by shedding $137.4 billion. The company was valued at $10.1 billion yesterday before the U.S. government agreed to take control.
Three other financial companies -- Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wachovia Corp. -- made the unlucky 13. The trio's value fell by $153.9 billion.
General Electric Co., whose financial units accounted for about half its profit last year, fell $120.9 billion. Only AIG had a steeper decline. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's biggest company by market value, sank $107.3 billion to rank third.
Technology stocks are well represented in the unlucky 13, which include Apple Inc., Google Inc., Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
AT&T Inc., Merck & Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. complete the lineup.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Wilson in New York at dwilson@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 17, 2008 10:11 EDT |
