Friday October 17
A strong close in New York on Thursday helps London
shares rebound to burst back through the 4,000 mark. In early trading,
the FTSE 100 climbs 4.95 per cent to 4,049.31
A consortium of major Japanese and Korean steelmakers is believed to be poised
to exploit the turmoil with a
daring $4 billion swoop on one of Brazil’s largest iron ore mining
companies
FSA chairman Lord Adair Turner warns that the era of light-touch
regulation is over
Thursday October 16
The Swiss
Government bails out the country's biggest bank, injecting SwFr6bn into
UBS for a 9.3 per cent stake while Credit Suisse raises money from investors
London shares dive
below 4,000, and the Hang Seng and the South Korean Kospi Index also
suffer heavy losses
US shares plunge as unemployment
rises to 6.1 per cent
The oil price falls to $72 a barrel, its lowest in 2008
Governor Mervyn King says the Bank of England will launch permanent
liquidity schemes in an effort to ease strains on the money markets
The crisis hits
British industry: the steelmaker Corus announces production cuts and
Jaguar Land Rover announces 200 job cuts
Citigroup reports a
further writedown of more than $13 billion, bringing its total credit
crunch hit to more than $60 billion. Merrill Lynch reports its fifth
consecutive quarterly loss, of $5.15 billion
FTSE 100 closes down 218.2 points at 3,861.39
Dow Jones closes up 401.35 points at 8,979.26
Wednesday October 15
UK unemployment surged at fastest
rate in 17 years to to 1.79 million. Economists forecast number of
people out of work in Britain will rise to 3 million within two years
Gordon Brown urges EU leaders to move to "stage
two" of his bank rescue plan, and calls for an international
conference to reorganise financial regulation
Petrol
prices drop below £1 a litre for first time since December
The Government puts Ernst
& Young on standby as administrator of UK assets of Landsbanki
Mosaic Fashions, a holding company at the heart of Baugur, the investment
group which controls a number of British high street brands, says it is
talking to numerous bidders as a fire
sale of Baugur's British assets draws near
FSA chief Hector
Sants apologises for the failure of the regulator to prevent the banking
crisis
M&A deals worth $90
billion have collapsed since September 1
Third-quarter profits at JP Morgan fall
84 per cent as the impact of bad mortgages, taken on with the
acquisition of Bear Stearns, is felt
US retail sales suffer worst fall since 1992 and Ben Bernanke warns there is no
quick fix for ailing economy
Stock
markets tumble. In London unemployment fears a warning from miner Rio
Tinto that the Chinese appetite for raw materials might be waning send
shares down. The Dax in Frankfurt loses 6 per cent, and shares in Paris fall
by almost 7 per cent. Shares on Wall Street lose 733 points, all but erasing
gains made on Monday and Tuesday following the bailout announcement
FTSE 100 closes down 314.62 points at 4,079.59
Dow Jones closes down 733.08 points at 8,577.91
Tuesday October 14
Shares in London rally following record-breaking
gains in Asia
President
Bush is expected to unveil firm plans to use $250 billion of the $700
billion bailout fund to take stakes in nine of America’s biggest banks
Adam Applegarth, former chief exectuive of Northern Rock, and colleagues will
not face legal action over the downfall of the bank
BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole forced
to deny they need emergency state funding
Iceland secures
€200 million funding from Norway and Denmark to help stabilise
economy, but is in ongoing talks to secure a far larger loan from Russia
FTSE closed up 137.31 points at 4,394.2
Dow Jones closed down 76.62 points at 9,310.99
Monday October 13
The Government will pump £37
billion into Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB in an emergency
refinancing viewed by some as partial nationalisation. Gordon Brown calls
for an end to the days of overblown City pay
Sir Fred Goodwin and Sir Tom McKillop of RBS, and Andy Hornby and Lord
Stevenson of Coddenham of HBOS announce they are quitting
Europe's
leaders follow Brown's plan to head off financial meltdown. Germany
announces a €400 billion in bank guarantees and a further €100 billion frech
capital for banks. France pledges €320 billion to guarantee interbank
lending and up to €40 billion to recapitalise banks. Austria, Spain and
Italy also announce measures
In the US, Henry Paulson moves to follow Britain's lead with a plan for the
Government to buy shares in American banks. He holds emergency talks with
America’s top bankers including Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of
Goldman Sachs, and John Mack, the chief executive of Morgan Stanley
Global
shares make their biggest one-day advance for 19 years
FTSE 100 closes up 324.84 points at 4,256.9
Dow Jones closes up 936.42 points at 9,387.61
Saturday October 11
Brown heads to Paris to talk with Eurozone
leaders after Sarkozy calls early meeting
Bush pledges a united
and global response to the credit crisis following the G7 Summit,
however, no new strategies were announced
Friday October 10
Writing in The Times, Gordon Brown calls for concerted
global action
G7 finance ministers and central bankers gather
in Washington
Japan’s Yamato
Life Insurance company, an unlisted insurer, collapses with $2.7 billion
in debt
Tokyo’s Nikkei average sinks 10.6 per cent to finish the morning session at
8,183.37in what would be the sharpest slide since a 14.9 per cent one-day
plunge during the 1987 crash
Dow Jones Index plunges
by 8 per cent to below 8,000 points within half an hour of opening, but
quickly rebounds. FTSE 100 drops below 4,000 for the first time in five
years. By the end of the day, $2.7
trillion has been wiped off the global value of shares
President Bush promises concerted
international action in a statement ahead of the G7
Senior officials at the US Federal Reserve doubt
that the $700 billion bailout fund will work unless it is launched in
some form in the next two weeks, The Times learns
Senior UK sources at the IMF in Washington give strong hints that if the
British Government's £400 billion bailout fails, the only option left to
stabilise the economy and financial system could be wholesale
nationalisation of the UK banking system
The fall of Lehman Brothers has triggered a huge corporate
debt default of $360 billion, as it emerges that the Fed has doubts
about whether its $700 billion bailout will work
It emerges that Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland,
is prepared
to step down if necessary to secure rescue capital for the bank
FTSE 100 closes down 366 points at 4,947.78
Dow Jones closes down 128.00 points at 8,451.19
Thursday October 9
Research suggests City
bonuses may fall 70 per cent
US Federal Reserve is preparing a further $38
billion loan for insurer AIG to prevent it going bankrupt
Iceland nationalises
Kaupthing and suspends trading on its stock exchange for two days
Stock markets across Europe react
positively in early trading following the co-ordinated rate cut by
central banks, but later shares in Lonon and New York slide
It emerges that the Bush Administration is considering UK-style
bailouts for ailing banks
Ireland
extends its deposit guarantee scheme to customers of foreign-owned banks
with a significant presence in the Republic
Monthly figures from the Halifax show an eighth consecutive drop in house
prices - but it is the smallest
fall for seven years
Gordon Brown promises to punish
"irresponsible" behaviour in the City
IMF will make emergency
loans available to developing countries
France, Belgium and Luxembourg guarantee
borrowing by Dexia
HSBC is quick
to comply with the Government's £500 billion banks recapitalisation
programme, injecting £750 million into its UK business
FTSE 100 falls to a four-year low and Dow Jones falls below 9,000 for the
first time in five years
FTSE 100 closes down 52.9 points at 4,313.8
Dow Jones closes down 678.91 points at 8,579.19
Wednesday October 8
Early on Wednesday morning Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling announce a £500
billion rescue package for the UK banking system, earmarking up to £50
billion of taxpayers' money for a part-nationalisation of British banks. RBS
and HBOS are expected to take part. Barclays, Standard Chartered and
Nationwide are also eligible
But pressure grows on RBS
chief Sir Fred Goodwin to quit. It is thought the Government is
reluctant to support the bank with public money if he remains in charge
Wave of equity selling follows confirmation that four key
Chinese steel plants have cut production by a fifth this year
National Institute of Economic and Social Research figures suggest Britain is
probably already in recession as the economy has shrunk 0.2 per cent in the
past three months
British Government takes
control of Singer & Friedlander, the UK arm of Icelandic bank
Kaupthing
Shop price growth stalls
at 3.6 per cent, suggesting inflation may have peaked last month
IMF predicts worst
recession in the UK since the 1990s
Central banks around the world join in unprecedented
emergency action and slash interest rates. Bank of England, which cuts
UK interest rate 0.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent, acts with the US Fed, ECB and
central banks in Sweden, Switzerland and Canada
Lenders pull
top mortgage rates in wake of the interest rate cut
Dozens of local councils stand to lose
millions invested in stricken Icelandic banks
US Treasury secretary Hank Paulson warns more
banks could collapse
FTSE 100 closes down down 238.5 points at 4,366.69, its lowest level for over
4 years
Dow Jones closes down 189 points at 9,258.10
Tuesday October 7
Australia’s central bank slashes interest rates by 100 basis points
Iceland's second-biggest bank, Landsbanki, goes into receivership, leaving
300,000 British customers of its internet savings arm Icesave
facing uncertainty. Icesave stops UK customers withdrawing money
EU raises savings guarantee to €50,000. Spain
raises guarantee to €100,000
IMF says UK bank losses could hit $1.4 trillion
Manufacturing
ouput fell 0.4 per cent in August, the sixth consecutive monthly fall
and the industry's worst run since the early 1980s
Billionaire owner of Bhs and Arcadia Sir Philip Green says Britain risks talking
itself into recession
Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland sink
below £1 on fears that a £50 billion government bailout could
result in a part-nationalisation of the UK banking sector
FTSE 100 closes up 16.03 points at 4,605.22
Dow Jones closes down 508.30 at 9,447.10
Monday October 6
$2,500
billion is wiped off global share values. In London the FTSE 100 suffers
its biggest fall since Black Monday in October 1987, and in New York the Dow
Jones dips below 10,000
It emerges that the Treasury is considering launching a
£50 billion lifeline to save high street banks
Icelandic government seizes
control of Kaupthing and Landsbanki, the country's biggest banks. Prime
Minister Geir Haarde warns that the country "could
go bankrupt"
CBI and British Chamber of Commerce call
for UK interest rate cut to 4.5 per cent
Franco-Belgian bank Dexia and Italian bank UniCredit look to be likely prey as
Europe scrambles
to set up bank rescues
FTSE 100 closes down 391.10 points at 4,589.20
Dow Jones closes down 369.90 points at 9,955.50
Sunday October 5
Alistair Darling hints at emergency plan to pump
billions into UK banks
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel promises to guarantee individuals' deposits to help prevent the
collapse of Hypo Real Estate, shattering President Sarkozy's
hopes of united European action
Iceland seeks financial
help of US and Scandinavian countries to prop up its banking system
Italy's second-largest bank UniCredit
sells off stock in a survival bid to raise €6.6 billion
Saturday October 4
European leaders meet in Paris. Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel lead calls
against unilateral moves, like that of Ireland, to guarantee savers'
deposits
€35 billion buyout of German lender Hypo
Real Estate fails
Friday October 3
Gordon Brown announces the formation of a National
Economic Council as he unveils his new Cabinet line-up
FSA raises bank deposit guarantee for UK savers to £50,000
US Congress
passes $700 billion rescue package
Embattled US bank Wachovia
reneges on a deal struck on Monday to be taken over by Citigroup,
turning instead to a better offer from Wells Fargo
US insurance giant AIG announces plans to
sell businesses to raise funds to repay the $85 billion emergency
government bailout loan and return to profit
FTSE 100 closes up 109.91 at 4,980.25
Dow Jones closes down 157.50 at 10,325.40
Thursday October 2
Greece follows Ireland and guarantees deposits and savers
across the continent rush to withdraw funds, undermining French
President Sarkozy's attempts to co-ordinate a pan-European response
Northern
Rock withdraws some savings products and may be forced, under
competition rules, to turn away a surge of customers seeking a
government-guaranteed haven for their deposits
European Central Bank holds interest rates at seven-year high of 4.25 per
cent, but President Jean-Claude
Trichet signals first rate cut in five years
European creditors of the collapsed Wall Street bank Lehman Brothers prepare
for legal action to recoup
billions in losses
Swiss bank UBS hints at a possible
banking revival, predicting a small profit in the first quarter
FTSE 100 closes down 89.25 at 4,870.34
Dow Jones closes down 348.20 at 10,482.80
Wednesday October 1
$700 billion bailout plan overwhelmingly
approved by US Senate, after Congress rejected it on Monday
Manufacturing firms are forced to cut overtime, night shifts and in some cases
move to a four-day
week
Icelandic bank Landsbanki
sells assets for €380 million. Glitnir, in which the Icelandic
Government was forced to buy a 75 per cent stake on Monday, issues a profit
warning
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
blames America for the financial crisis
Former AIG chief Maurice "Hank" Greenberg presses the company to let
him bid if $85 billion government loan leads
to asset sale
US
carmakers unveil slump in sales after the crisis freezes auto loans.
Congress approves $25 billion hanout
FTSE 100 closes up 57.14 points at 4,959.59
Dow Jones closes down 19.60 at 10,831.10
