2011 was a busy year for the markets, even if they ended roughly where they started twelve months ago. News outlets are out with the top news of the year, and it all roughly reads the same: Europe was in crisis, MF Global went under, Steve Job's passed away, and Occupy Wall Street took control of downtown New York.
However, some huge stories snubbed.
We compiled a list of the biggest stories that rocked investors. Then we compared those lists to what the editors at CNNMoney, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek chose as their top picks.
The return of the American automaker
2012 was Valhalla for the Detroit three. After stomaching years of losses, GM and Chrysler roared back to life. The latter with the help of Italian Fiat proved it could sell small automobiles with the success of an all new Chrysler 300 and 200. Meanwhile, GM has posted an impressive 15% year-on-year sales improvement, selling 2.27 million vehicles in the U.S. during the first 11 months of the year across its four brands. Ford, meanwhile, has already sold more than 2 million Ford-brand vehicles in the U.S. this year, the first time it will pass that mark since 2007.
The Federal Reserve unveils Operation Twist
In an effort to spur long-term investments and cut mortgage rates, the Federal Reserve announced it was going to begin buying billions in long-term issuances while selling shorter-duration notes. The $400 billion swap helped reduce yields on 10- and 30-year bonds to near 2% and 3%, respectively. That happened even after the U.S. saw its credit rating lowered by Standard and Poor's.
The Fed, ECB, BOJ, BOE, SNB and BOC announce a monster coordinated intervention
The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada, and the Swiss National Bank announced they would lower the cost of swapping dollars. Specifically, they cut the U.S. dollar liquidity swap rate by 50 basis points. This was an effort to boost liquidity in the European bank funding markets. The announcement provided a monster adrenaline boost to stocks. The Dow jumped 490 points that day.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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See Also:
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