The Worst Market Crashes Since 1929
Monday’s stock market collapses in Asia and Europe after China retaliated to steep US tariffs revived memories of similar market turmoil after the Covid pandemic and the last global financial crisis.
Analysts called the falls “historic” and some even described it as a “bloodbath”, recalling previous collapses since the start of the last century.
Global stocks crashed in March 2020 after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic, putting much of the world under lockdown.
On March 12, 2020 — the day after the announcement — Paris fell 12 percent, Madrid 14 percent and Milan 17 percent. London dropped 11 percent and New York 10 percent in the worst fall since 1987.
Further falls came over the following days, with US indexes dropping more than 12 percent.
The rapid response by national governments, which dug deep to keep their economies afloat, helped most markets rebound within months.
The 2008 global financial crisis was caused by bankers in the United States giving subprime mortgages to people on shaky financial footing and then selling them off as investments, fueling a housing boom.
When borrowers became unable to pay their mortgages, millions lost their homes, the stock market crashed and the banking system buckled, culminating with the dramatic bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers.
