Which stocks did best under Bush? Southwestern Energy
— -- The George W. Bush era ended with the Standard & Poor's 500 index down 37% during the eight years of his presidency.
Both companies sell into the telecom industry, which suffered a wicked bubble bursting in 2001-2002. More than $1 trillion in stock market value evaporated from the industry, a wipeout from which the two have yet to recover. The S&P 500 suffered a compounded annual loss of 3.8% during the eight Bush years, including reinvested dividends, according to data supplied to USA TODAY by S&P's financial research company Capital IQ.
Energy company won big
Capital IQ says that among the 442 companies that were on the S&P 500 from start to finish, 226 made at least some money for those who owned them on Jan. 20, 2001, and held until Jan. 16, 2009, the last full trading day of the Bush years. As recently as October 2007 the S&P 500 was up 16% for the Bush presidency. It fell nearly 46% after.
What effect did Bush have?
The eight years have been anything but uneventful and at times created turmoil in the markets. When the S&P 500 closed at 1342.54 on Jan. 19, 2001, the dot-com bubble of 1995-2001 was deflating and Sept. 11 was about to make its emotional and financial impact. Two wars later and Bush leaves behind an environment of volatile energy prices and an economic downturn many fear is the worst since the Great Depression.
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