The biggest financial news stories of 2013
2013 was a year full of IPOs, governmental disasters, taper madness, market highs and more (seriously, how many new market highs can one year have?).
The Yahoo Finance staff reminisced about the past 12 months, recounting their favorite financial news stories.
Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act was a topic of intense scrutiny and debate this year. From a faulty website to increased healthcare costs, the nation's healthcare law has been riddled with controversy all year long.
Want a refresher? Check out these links:
Obamacare Working Even Better Than Peter Orszag Expected
Obamacare: Worst Law Passed in Four Decades Must Be Stopped, Says Stockman
Obamacare: Separating Truth from Fiction – Here’s What You Need to Know
Grading Obamacare: Why the Government Should (and Shouldn’t) Control Health Care Coverage
Fed Taper
Will they or won’t they? That was the question asked before nearly every FOMC meeting this year. After 12 months of drama, outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced in December that the central bank would begin to taper its bond-buying program by $10 billion a month…and the markets didn’t even blink.
Relive the drama here:
Taper or Not, America Is "Better Off" for What the Fed Has Done: Roger Altman
Jim Rickards: Don’t worry Wall Street, the Fed’s (still) got your back
Fed Tapering Will Cause Markets to Freak Out: Heidi Moore
Ignore Feldstein, Fed Should Taper in 2014: Dean Baker
Fed Tapering: Economy Without QE May Not Look Much Different, Here’s Why
Debt Ceiling/Fiscal Cliff/Government Shutdown
Our friends in Washington certainly stirred the pot this year. We began 2013 with a little fiscal cliff drama and ended the year with a debt-ceiling crisis and a 16-day government shutdown.
Revisit all of the D.C. drama here:
Republicans Should ‘Take Hostages’ Over Debt Ceiling; U.S. Won’t Default, Says Stockman
Debt Ceiling Debate: Does Wall Street Believe the U.S. Could Default?
Government Shutdown: Good News or Bad News for the Economy?
Dear Congress: We Want Our Money Back
Fiscal Cliff Woes Caused GDP Contraction: Heidi Moore
The Sequester Is Awful And Obama Didn’t Even Try To Stop It: Prof. Bill Black
Market Highs
The NASDAQ is at a 13-year high; The Dow just hit its 50th record high for the year with the S&P 500 right behind it. Can markets keep going like this? Are we in a bubble? Have we finally put 2008 recession jitters behind us?
Count your money while reminiscing over these record-breaking stories:
S&P 500 At Record High, Market “Sort of Toppy”: Rosenberg
This Week Is Do or Die for Market Bears
There’s More to This Market Rally Than Meets the Eye
History Suggests Markets Will Soar When Fed’s QE Ends, Says James Altucher
Will Earnings Season Kill the Stock Market Rally?
NSA Scandal/Edward Snowden
2013 will be known as the year where one IT guy changed the way personal security is perceived in America and around the world. This summer, Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA had been spying on American citizens, businesses, and political leaders around the world and then went into hiding, eventually finding solace in Russia. Snowden has said he has a lot more up his sleeve, so expect this to be a big story in 2014 as well.
Read about it here:
Edward Snowden to America: ‘Catch Me If You Can’
Edward Snowden is “Heroic” Says David Stockman
Is NSA Leaker Edward Snowden a Hero or a Traitor?
Global Warming and Extreme Weather
Whether you believe in global warming or not, there’s no denying that 2013 was a year of extreme weather. We began the year by rebuilding and recovering from the devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to the East Coast. From tornados in Oklahoma to the Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, this has certainly been a year of extreme weather.
Cap-and-Trade Beat Acid Rain, It Can Beat Global Warming: Sandor
The Cure to Costly Climate Change Is…Contraception?
Al Gore: We Should Put a Price on Carbon
Economist: Recycling and Hybrids Won’t Save the Planet But Here’s What Will
The Trillion Dollar Crisis Facing the U.S.
Gold Crash
Gold bugs beware! While we couldn’t get enough of gold last year, this year we turned our backs on the yellow metal. Whether it was a boost of confidence in the greenback dollar, the popularization of bitcoin or something else entirely, gold is on track to end the year at a loss for the first time in 13 years.
Recount the downfall of gold here:
Jim Rogers: Gold Could Fall to $900 in Next 1-2 Years
Gold Prices ‘Still Very Inflated’: Talking Numbers’ Brian Sullivan
"The World's Most Seductive Metal": Gold's Top 5 Secrets
Jim Rogers on Gold: Continues to Have a Long Overdue Correction
J.P. Morgan Fines
J.P. Morgan began the year on top of the world with articles practically nominating Jamie Dimon as king of the universe. And then it all fell apart.
Rewatch the ship go down here:
JPMorgan “Just the First Domino”: Bill Cohan
JPMorgan to Pay $11B Settlement (Reports): Is Bank a Scapegoat or a Scoundrel?
New Scandalous Emails Put JP Morgan In Hot Water
Sallie Krawcheck on JPMorgan’s Billions in Fines: “A Real Cost of Doing Business”
