Con-tango

The scorecard

Courtesy of Prophet

From this Bloomberg article I learn the tally on the markets pain, so far…

Stock markets and commodities have tumbled along with currencies this year amid growing concern that governments, central banks and finance ministers are powerless to counter eroding corporate earnings and a global recession.

Oil-producing nations haven’t escaped the carnage as crude plunged 56 percent from its July peak to $64 a barrel.

More than $10 trillion has been erased from the market value of equities so far this month, accounting for about one-third of the total value wiped off stocks this year. MSCI’s index of developed and emerging stock markets plunged 48 percent in 2008 and is heading for its worst year on record as credit-related losses topped $660 billion.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down more than 40 percent this year, poised for its worst annual retreat since 1931. The S&P 500 has lost 26 percent since U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. declared bankruptcy on Sept. 15, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 has fallen 25 percent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 has tumbled 37 percent and Germany’s DAX has dropped 29 percent.