Annus Horribilis Continued
After a dismal January the equity markets continued their slide capping the worst two-month start to a new year in their 113-year history. The losses in February were the worst performance for a February since 1933. Stocks also closed yesterday at their lowest point since May 1, 1997. For the Dow Jones Industrial Average this was the sixth consecutive monthly drop and the index is off ~50% from its October 2007 record highs. Also, the 39% decline since August was the worst six months since the 45% decline since 1932. It should come as no surprise that the indices were led lower by the continued …