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America Chooses Mediocrity
The decade opened with a divisive election where George W. Bush — an unsuccessful business executive — defeated Al Gore — a wooden but seasoned political servant — in an election decided by the Electoral College and the US Supreme Court. -
Dot-com buubble
collapse of a technology bubble -
America is Traumatized
Bush ran on a platform of lower taxes and less government; he wasn’t interested in or adept at governing. As a result, Bush failed to pay attention to early warnings and, on September 11th, terrorists attacked. The US went to war and the Bush administration claimed near dictatorial power. -
The Economy Tanks
Throughout the first years of the decade, America had a negative savings rate as families borrowed against their home equity to maintain their lifestyle. Faith that housing prices would increase indefinitely led to gross Wall Street speculation. In 2007 the housing bubble burst, resulting in the collapse of the financial system. -
United States bear market of 2007
Till June 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 all experienced declines of greater than 20% from their peaks in late 2007. -
Financial Crisis of 2007-2008
failures of large financial institutions in the United States, due primarily to exposure of securities of packaged subprime loans and credit default swaps issued to insure these loans and their issuers, rapidly devolved into a global crisis resulting in a number of bank failures in Europe and sharp reductions in the value of equities (stock) and commodities worldwide -
America is Depressed
Before Obama was inaugurated, it was clear the US was in the grips of a severe recession. As unemployment rose and business activity declined, the mood of the US soured. Divisive Republican political tactics impeded Obama’s legislative agenda, particularly health care reform. -
Flash Crash
The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffers its worst intra-day point loss, dropping nearly 1,000 points before partially recovering. -
Best Quarter
t grew 3.3% on an annual basis between July and September, according to revised numbers published Wednesday by the Commerce Department. The initial reading on third quarter growth was 3.0%. That marks the best quarter of growth since in 2014 when the economy grew 5.2% during the same period. An increase in exports, as well as a pick up in business and consumer spending, contributed to the improved growth. -
Stock Market Selloff
The Dow Jones fell 588 points during a two-day period, 1,300 points from August 18–21. On Monday, August 24, world stock markets were down substantially, wiping out all gains made in 2015, with interlinked drops in commodities such as oil, which hit a six-year price low, copper, and most of Asian currencies, but the Japanese yen, losing value against the United States dollar. With this plunge, an estimated ten trillion dollars had been wiped off the books on global markets since June 3. -
Prediction of 2018 Economy
The Federal Reserve predicts economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, will rise to 2.5 percent in 2018. That's within the ideal range of 2-3 percent. While a candidate, Donald Trump promised to boost growth to 4 percent. A 4 percent growth rate would set off a dangerous boom and bust cycle. If growth does hit that level, it could create a recession by 2020. You may need the five steps that protect you from the next economic crisis.