Financial markets are in trouble. Where will the cracks appear?
The first big test of a new-look financial system
It is hard not to feel a sense of foreboding. As the Federal Reserve has tightened policy, asset prices have plunged. Stocks, as measured by the Wilshire 5000 all-cap index, have shed $12trn of market capitalisation since January. Another $7trn has been wiped off bonds, which have lost 14% of their value. Some $2trn of crypto market-cap has vanished over the past year. House prices adjust more slowly, but are falling. Mortgage rates have hit 7%, up from 3% last year. And this is all in America—one of the world’s strongest economies.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The rumbling draws near”
Finance & economics October 8th 2022
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