Headline Quotes - October 9, 2008

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Nouriel Roubini: The world is at severe risk of a global systemic financial meltdown and a severe global depression

AP: Dow plunges 679 to fall to lowest level in 5 years

"Everything we're seeing is historic. The problem is historic, the solutions are historic, and unfortunately, the sell-off is historic. It's not the kind of history you want to be making."

Asian Stocks Plunge as Credit Crisis Widens; Nikkei Tumbles

"It's a financial panic," said Choi Min Jai, who oversees the equivalent of $2.1 billion at KTB Asset Management Co. in Seoul. "The recession can only get worse. You can't find the link that will break the vicious cycle."

Global Credit Crisis Hampers Commodities Trade in South Korea

"It's getting worse and worse as import costs are surging everyday because of the plunging won and expensive credit," Lee Won Jae, an analyst with SK Securities Co., said by phone from Seoul today. "Local banks are reluctant to provide new financing for imports."

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Japan's Nikkei Falls Nearly 10%

"I think people are trying to liquidate positions, but there just aren't any buyers there. It's the nature of the markets that there are very few people willing to buy stocks," said Andrew Sullivan, a sales trader at Main First Securities. "A lot of people sitting on cash are happy to be sitting on cash at the moment." He added the selling was likely intensified because of a holiday in Japan on Monday.

European Union tested by world economic crisis

"Europe is in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime crisis," 256 of the continent's leading economists said Tuesday in an open letter to EU leaders.

"Unless European leaders immediately unite to address this crisis before it spirals out of control, they may find themselves fighting over how best to salvage the aftermath," the economists said. They evoked "the dark years of the 1930s," adding: "It is not an exaggeration to say that it could happen again if governments fail to act."

United States Dragging the World into a Great Depression

“Big discounts fail to lure shoppers,” reports the Wall Street Journal . Restaurants are empty. Shopping malls are not even attracting strollers and gawkers – let alone people with money to spend. Auto lots are so quiet the salesmen take turns pretending to be customers – just to keep their skills at-the-ready. Even the private jet business is in a tailspin."

9 out of 10 Americans now believe the country is headed in the "wrong direction" economically, while, according to CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans over the weekend, a majority of people now "believe another economic depression is likely" and that we will experience "25% unemployment rate, widespread bank failures and millions of Americans homeless and unable to feed their families."

Are Korean banks next in line for government rescue?

SEOUL (Reuters) - As the global financial crisis picks off victims among U.S. and European financial institutions, analysts fear South Korea's banks could be the next casualties.

European markets plunge again; Nikkei plummets

LONDON - European stock markets slumped in early trading Friday following massive sell-offs on Wall Street and Asia as lending rates between banks continue to rise despite this week's efforts by central banks to break the logjam in credit markets.

"Overall it's the fact that despite the huge fire-fighting efforts of central banks worldwide we still haven't seen any thawing of interbank lending that is going to be causing the most concern now," said Matt Buckland, a dealer at CMC Markets in London.

"Investors were gripped by fear," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities in Tokyo.

"I don't know what they can do. The actions of governments and central banks have had no effects, they haven't freed up credit markets and not inspired confidence in stock markets," said David Jones, chief markets strategist at IG Index.

Few places escaped the deepening gloom. In Australia, where the S&P/ASX200 plummeted a record 8.3 percent, market watchers were calling it "Black Friday." Key indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and India were all down about 8 percent. South Korea's Kospi closed down 4.1 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index posted a more moderate decline of 2.8 percent.

The Japanese yen and gold remain in demand as safe-haven assets.

Venezuelan president blames U.S., IMF for world financial crisis

The U.S. crisis revealed that the imperialism bases are falling down and U.S. President George W. Bush and the IMF should be responsible for the world financial crisis, Chavez said.

Dow Jones average dips below 8,600 on panic sell-off

·The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 678.91 points, or 7.33%, at 8,579.19.
·The S&P 500 Index plunged 75.02 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 95.21 points.·Over past seven days, the Dow shed almost 21% and the S&P 500 nearly 22%

All signs pointing to panic
Even Feds seem impotent to calm markets; Dow has now lost 39% of value in past year

"I think this is all-out panic," said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis. "It's gone from economic problems creating fear to fear creating economic problems."

Global auto market may "collapse" in 2009: J.D.Power

"While the global automotive industry is clearly experiencing a slowdown in 2008, the global market in 2009 may experience an outright collapse," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of automotive forecasting for J.D. Power.