The Wall St. street sign is photographed in front of the American flag hanging on the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Sept. 25, 2008. Once the undisputed financial capital of the world, it remains unclear whether New York City can retain the title with the nation's top investment houses who call the city their home either shuttered, bought-out or transitioning into staid commercial operations.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008.
Auto industry executives, from left, GM Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli; Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally; and Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers union, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the automotive industry bailout.
Specialist Elizabeth Rose looks at a screen at her post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. Volatility was prevalent on Wall Street for much of the second half of the year.
A general view of the Lehman Brothers headquarters building at Canary Wharf in London. Lehman Brothers, a top U.S. investment bank, filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008, marking the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The following day, Barclays PLC announced its agreement to purchase, Lehman's North American investment-banking and trading divisions along with its New York headquarters building.
The sun peers over an American flag at a Mobil Station in Andover, Mass., Wednesday, July 16, 2008. Consumer prices shot up in June at the second fastest pace in 26 years with two-thirds of the surge blamed on soaring energy prices. Energy prices rocketed upward by 6.6 percent, reflecting big gains for gasoline, home heating oil and natural gas.
Elizabeth Rose, a specialist with Lehman Brothers MarketMakers, works her post on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. A stunning reshaping of the Wall Street landscape sent stocks down sharply Monday, but the pullback was relatively orderly - perhaps because investors were unsurprised by the demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and relieved by a takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co.
The American International Group logo is shown Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, in New York. The major U.S. insurer suffered from a liquidity crisis after its credit ratings were downgraded, and the Federal Reserve Bank created an $85 billion credit facility to enable the company to meet collateral and other cash obligations, at the cost to AIG of the issuance of a stock warrant to the the Fed for 79.9% of AIG's equity.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Richard S. Fuld Jr., wearing tie, is heckled by protesters as he leaves Capitol Hill in Washington after testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, on the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
In this photo taken Sept. 23, 2008, the amount of U.S. national debt on that day is shown on the National Debt Clock in New York.
A man who wished to remain unidentified looks at job listings at the Employment Development Department in San Francisco, Dec. 5, 2008. Unemployment in the U.S. rose as the economy continued to struggle.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, right, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, sit at the witness table on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, Sept. 23, 2008.
The Dow Jones news ticker is reflected in a television monitor at the NASDAQ headquarters in New York's Times Square announcing the passing of the $700B financial bailout bill, Friday, Oct. 3, 2008.
An unidentified Bear Stearns employee pens a message on a painting of Bear Stearns chairman James Cayne outside the company's headquarters May 29, 2008, in New York.
Amy Vollmar, 43, from Bowling Green, Ohio, a worker for Chrysler for the past 24 years, listens Dec. 3, 2008, during a Chrysler rally at the Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.
A sign indicating a reduced price stands outside an existing home for sale Oct. 11, 2008, near downtown Cheyenne, Wyo.
A board on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shows the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 800 points on Oct. 6, 2008.