The Great Recession in the United States

Timeline created by kayedavid in History

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Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
08/07/2007	Federal Reserve freezes funds	With the Dow Jones Industrial average tumbling 387 points, the Federal Reserve pumps about $24 billion into the U.S. banking system to keep the short-term interest rate at the 5.25% target. Source: USA Today: Bank freezes funds, markets plummet on subprime fears
10/09/2007	Dow Jones at an all-time high	The Dow Jones Industrial average reaches an all-time high of 14,164.53 points. Source: CNN Money
12/01/2007	the Start of the Recession	The U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research officially declares, in December 2008, that the United States economy has been in recession since 2007, based on economic indicators like employment and production. Source: CNN Money Image: California Examiner
03/16/2008	Bear Stearns collapses	The United States's fifth largest investment bank, Bear Stearns, collapses due to its investors no longer believing that it can repay its loans. The following day, March 17, JP Morgan agrees to buy the ailing company for $2 a share. Sources: USA Today, NY Times Image: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Business/Pix/pictures/2007/12/20/BearStearns460.jpg
04/04/2008	Unemployment continues to rise	80,000 jobs are cut in March, the third consecutive month of increasing unemployment. Source: NY Times
09/05/2008	Highest unemployment in 5 years	The unemployment rate rises to 6%, its highest since 2003. Sources: NY Times, CNN Money Image: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/09/06/business/06econ-graf.jpg
09/07/2008	Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac takeover	The US Treasury takes over the two mortgage buyers in order to bolster the nation's housing market, which had been plagued by foreclosures and falling prices. The "conservatorship," overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, allows the government to run Fannie and Freddie until they are more stable. Source: CNN Money Image: http://www.totalmortgage.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/fannie-mae1.jpg
09/29/2008	Largest Dow Jones drop	The Dow Jones drops 778 points, the largest one-day point drop in history, owing to the failure by the House of Representatives to pass Bush's $700 billion bailout. Source/Image: Time
10/01/2008	Bush signs $700 billion bailout	The President signs a $700 billion financial bailout bill to get the economy moving. The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, gives the government the chance to buy non-liquid assets from banks and financial institutions. Source: MSNBC
10/03/2008	Banks bailed out	The US Senate passes the $700 billion bank bailout bill, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, in order to combat the financial crisis. Source/Image: ProPublica
10/09/2008	Stocks tumble	For the first time since 2003, stocks on the Dow Jones fall below 9,000. Source: Bloomberg
10/10/2008	Worst week in Dow Jones history?	Stocks on the Dow Jones swung in a range of a thousand points, making for one of the most unstable weeks in financial history. Source: Wall Street Journal, The Telegraph
11/07/2008	Even higher unemployment	Another milestone: unemployment rises to 6.5%, a 14-year high, in October. About 240,000 jobs were lost in that month, a fraction of the 1.2 million jobs lost for the year. Source: NPR
01/09/2009	Climbing unemployment rate	With over 500,000 jobs lost in December, the unemployment rate grows to a 16-year-high of 7.2%. At this point, there are 11.1 million unemployed in the US, about 50% more than when the recession began. Source/Image: NY Times
02/13/2009	Obama Stimulus Package	With three immediate goals (create new and save existing jobs, spur economic activity, and encourage transparency and accountability in government spending), Congress passes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The package cost is estimated at $787 billion. Source: Recovery.gov
06/01/2009	End of the Recession?	After 18 months, the economy has expanded 3.5 percent, signaling the official end of the recession. However, some, like economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, believe that the U.S. recession is “nowhere near” an end. Unemployment is still at high levels all around the country.
11/06/2009	Unemployment over 10%	Despite the recession ending, a rise in the unemployment rate to 10.2% shows continued weakness in the job market. It hasn't been this bad since April 1983. Source: CNN Money
03/04/2011	Unemployment falls below 9%	After a solid February, the unemployment rate falls to 8.9%, the lowest it's been since April 2009. The rate has fallen for the past 3 months, the fastest improvement in about 28 years. Has the economy finally turned the corner? Source: CNN Money
08/05/2011	US loses its AAA rating	The S&P downgraded the US credit rating to "AA+" with a negative outlook. A credit rating assigned to U.S. sovereign debt measures credit worthiness, or how likely the country will pay back its debts. The rating also influences interest rates on the debts. Video: Anderson Cooper on CNN
09/08/2011	American Jobs Act	WIth no new jobs created in August, President Obama makes a speech on the Act, namely to implore Congress to help him jumpstart the economy with a package of spending and tax cut initiatives to cost about $450 billion. Source/Image: CBS News Read the speech: The Telegraph
12/05/2011	Cost of unemployment benefits	Over the past four years, Americans have collected $434 billion in unemployment benefits. The jobless collect 26 weeks of state benefits then shift to the federal program, which allows for up to 53 weeks of emergency compensation and up to 20 more weeks of extended benefits. About 17 billion Americans have collected jobless benefits. Source/Image: CNN Money
Timespan Dates:	Timespan Title:	Timespan Description:
12/01/2007 to 06/01/2009	Late 2000s Recession	Lasting 18 months, this is the longest recession in the United States since World War II.
11/01/2009 to 01/31/2011	Unemployment rate steady	Unemployment hovers between 9-10%.