So far 2008 has reported some of the most eye popping economic data seen in quite some while, and in some cases ever. Here is a list in no particular order of some of the most interesting (and frightening) records posted this year. Some you may remember and some will be new to you. Oh and we don't even have Q4 numbers yet.
1. 777 Dow Drop: The Down Jones drops 777 points on Monday Sept. 29th. The biggest fall (point wise) ever. 777 doesn't sound so lucky anymore.
2. U.S. treasury yield goes negative for the first time ever:
The annualized yield on three-month T-bills dipped slightly below zero at one point Tuesday (Dec. 9th), to negative 0.01%, according to Bloomberg News data. Late in the day the yield rose to positive 0.01%.
3. Base metals have largest drop ever recorded: 
http://www.agorafinancial.com/5min/everything-worse-than-expected-base-metals-update-automaker-bailout-college-expense-inflation-and-more/Base metals like copper, lead and zinc are down around 60% from their summer record highs. According to research published this week by Barclays, this sudden decline is the most drastic in American history, even compared to the Great Depression fallout.
4. Gold has largest one day gain ever:
http://www.goldworld.com/articles/gold-record-gain/315Gold prices exploded Wednesday (Sept 17th)-posting the biggest one-day gain ever in dollar terms-as fears of more credit market turmoil unnerved investors and triggered a flood of safe-haven buying. Gold for December delivery rose as much as $90.40, or 11.6%, to $870.90 an ounce in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after jumping $70 to settle at $850.50 in the regular session. That was the biggest one-day price jump ever; gold's previous single-day record was a $64 gain on Jan. 29, 1980. In percentage terms, it was gold's largest one-day advance since 1999.
5. S&P dividend yield surpasses the yield on the 30 year T-bill for first time since 1958:
http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/the-feds-war-on-cash/the dividend yield on the S&P 500 is 3.48%. The yield on a 30-year U.S. bond is 3.16%. According to Mark Hulbert at CBS Marketwatch, 1958 was the last time the yield on the S&P 500 exceeded the yield on the 30-year bond. 1958? Are you kidding? Elvis joined the U.S. Army in 1958. Eisenhower was in the White House, Khrushchev in the Kremlin, and Menzies was elected for the fifth time in Australia."
6. U.S. household debt shrank for the first time since 1952: However the 5 min forecast notes,
http://www.agorafinancial.com/5min/agora-financials-5-min-forecast-the-a...Household debt, as measured by the Fed, fell 0.8% in the third quarter. We’d like to think Americans noticed their declining net worth and chose to pull back, save money and pay down their debts. But this is the “credit crisis,” after all… there’s an equally good chance that the pullback was involuntary, and fresh lines of credit were simply less available. Foreclosure is a “great” way to slash household debt too, and there’s been no shortage of them this year.
7. Total household net worth fell $2.8 trillion in the third quarter:
http://www.agorafinancial.com/5min/agora-financials-5-min-forecast-the-a...the biggest decline since records began in 1952. According to the Fed today, a combination of real estate losses, the stock market collapse, and rising unemployment caused the most damage to the average American’s bottom line since the Depression era.
8. Jobless claims jump to 573,000, a 26-year high:
and as the 5 min forecast notes, "The Labor Dept. began keeping monthly employment stats in 1939, at the end of the Great Depression. Today’s count ranks among the top five worst monthly losses since then" http://www.agorafinancial.com/5min/jobs-bombshell-the-goldcrude-ratio-mi...The U.S. labor market weakened further last week, with the number of first-time filings for state unemployment benefits jumping by 58,000 to a 26-year high of 573,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
9. Largest housing decline on record: Each month seems to bring a new record in housing. I believe this is the latest from the case-shiller index,
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRudRb0stzDA&refer=homeHouse prices in 20 U.S. cities declined in the year ended in September at the fastest pace on record as rising foreclosures pushed down property values. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 17.4 percent in September from a year earlier, more than forecast, after a 16.6 percent decline in August. The gauge has fallen every month since January 2007, and year-over-year records began in 2001.
10. The Volatility Index (VIX) hits 81. Its highest point ever in October:
http://cocochanel.tistory.com/tag/Volatility%20indexThe Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, known as VIX, has become a daily ticker of investor anxiety. VIX measures the degree to which investors expect stocks to swing and is often called the "fear gauge." It closed at 70.33 on Friday, its highest close ever, and hit an intraday high of 81.17 last week. In normal times, it trades at about 15 to 20, analysts said.
11. Gold rises above platinum for the first time in a long time:
Platinum prices fell, trading almost on par with gold for the first time since 1996, on concern that the near-collapse of the US auto industry will erode demand for the white metal used in pollution-control devices in cars.
I have no doubt that there are some that I have missed. If you would like to add them below, please do! I would like to not that none of these events would have been possible with out central banking policies of the past. Please also note that Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke have been stating things were completely fine from 2007 until the Oct. of this year.
