Browse Topics
Tools
Editor's choice

Spanish food recipe: Pollo Asado

Prepare a perfect Spanish roast chicken by following Sandra Piddock’s recipe.

Top 10 restaurants in Madrid

Here's our pick of the top ten restaurants in the Spanish capital.

Spain's North-South divide

Sun-seeking pensioners live in southern Spain, while arty young entrepreneurs move to Barcelona or Madrid. True or just cliché?

Favourite restaurants in Barcelona

Blogger Jeremy Holland on where to find good, old-fashioned American hamburgers, rich authentic Italian pasta and traditional Catalan bocadillos.

Internaxx Stock Market
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2119.3 0.50
DAX 5252.45 1.50
IBEX 30 10726.8 0.59
CAC 40 3377.59 1.40
FTSE 100 4564.5 0.79
AEX 276.85 0.95
DJIA 9096.72 -0.13
Nasdaq 1975.51 0.39
FTSE MIB 20341.67 1.65
TSX Composite 10570.54 -1.74
ASX 4148.9 -0.60
Hang seng 20135.5 -2.37
Straits Times 0.00
ISEQ 20 442.48 0.27
You are here: Home Finance & Business Financial crisis leaves euro with new popularity 2008 turned financial heroes to zeroes

02/01/20092008 turned financial heroes to zeroes

The financial crisis of 2008 was uncompromising in its destruction of reputations and unsparing in its treatment of investors, many of whom were blown on the rocks by the forces that ripped through markets.

Across the world, people felt the pain of plunging stock markets through stock market portfolios or pension funds, but several incidents of bad luck, poor timing or financial stupidity stand out among the wreckage.


The scandal surrounding Bernard Madoff, a former scion of Wall Street, is a fitting end to a catastrophic year for the financial sector with an alleged pyramid investment scheme apparently duping billionaires out of millions.


The world's leading banks, richest investors and even a Steven Spielberg charitable foundation are among the victims of what could end up as a 50-billion-dollar fraud.


Among other notable losers of the year, British billionaire investor and football club owner Joe Lewis was caught conspicuously taking a punt on Bear Stearns shortly before the now-defunct US bank collapsed.


Having made millions betting successfully on the collapse of the British pound and the Mexican peso, Lewis reportedly spent more than 800 million dollars building a stake in Bear Stearns at more than 100 dollars a share.


Bear Stearns was eventually rescued by JPMorgan Chase which paid 10 dollars a share – less than the estimated value of the group's Manhattan office building.
In Germany, Adolf Merckle, formerly owner of the world's 94th biggest fortune according to Forbes magazine, lost a reported one billion euro through speculation on shares in car maker Volkswagen.


In Asia and the Middle East, the managers of state investment funds spent the year watching the value of their ill-timed investments in Western banks in late 2007 and early 2008 – estimated at 50-60 billion dollars – turn from bad to worse.
They stepped forward to help recapitalise European and US banks that had been hit by early subprime loan and securities losses, but following further problems many have since been part-nationalised.

0 reactions to this article

participate in the forums
ask your question
find the business you need
Discussion Forums

Jobs

Part Time Work Needed in Madrid and Barcelona, by marthaa

Soapbox

Books on Spain for Christmas, by shuggie

Travel & Transport

backpacking in Australia, by Zuri

Discuss Spanish Culture

Are Spanish people Tactless and arrogant or just forthright?, by john4efc66

Jobs

cvExpres, work in Spain as a teacher in a private school or academie, by santi21

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Checklist for expats moving to Spain

Checklist for expats moving to Spain

Before you head out to explore the new city, make sure your paperwork's all done by referring to our guide.

Job hunting in Spain

Job hunting in Spain

Looking for a job just got harder with the global recession. Here’s a guide to make things a tad easier.

How to open a bank account in Spain

How to open a bank account in Spain

Expatica's guide to opening a bank account in Spain.

Unique festivals in Spain

Unique festivals in Spain

Too many fiestas and too little time; Expatica presents our pick of the top monthly festivals in Spain so you won’t miss out on the action.