Date: 03-03-2008
Staggering quarterly losses were reported all over, as stock market stalwarts like Dell, Sprint Nextel, AIG, and Freddie Mac took big hits in the deepening economic crisis. Any hopes of these companies being shielded from the overall U.S. economic slump have effectively been dashed. Sprint, taken over just two months ago by CEO Daniel Hesse, faced a whopping $29.7 billion write-down for the quarter, wiping out nearly all the value of its $35 billion merger with Nextel Communications. Dell reported an unexpected drop of 6.4%, missing analysts' expectations. AIG, the premier insurance company, also posted its worst quarterly loss as a publicly traded company after an $11.1 billion write-down on guarantees sold to fixed-income investors. Meanwhile, Freddie Mac lost $2.5 billion in the wake of the mortgage meltdown, while Sears' profits shrank by 48%.
