Inaugurating Barackonomics

(bettertrades) - Wall Street welcomed the first full day of Barack Obama's presidency, fighting off banking and earnings malaise - with the help of IBM - to buck bear market overtones.

Roughly 2 million Americans descended on Washington Tuesday morning to witness the Inauguration of the 44th U.S. President. Some market participants were expecting an "Obama boost", hoping the historic nature of Obama's presidency would usher in good feelings on Wall Street. The stock market did not acquiesce. The Dow sunk 4%, or 332.12 points, to 7,949.09, the S&P 500 plummeted 5.2%, or 44.90 points, to 805.22, and the NASDAQ Composite plunged 5.7%, or 88.47 points, to 1,440.86.

The last day of the Bush presidency capped off a 2nd term crash and burn unlike any other in American presidential history. Taking a look back at the major economic events of the Bush Presidency, the rise and fall of the economy tells a tale of two Presidencies.

• June 7th, 2001: Bush tax cuts signed into law
• September 11th, 2001: Terrorist attacks hit New York City, Washington D.C.
• September 21st, 2001: DJIA falls to 8,235
• December 2001: Enron files for bankruptcy
• October 4th, 2002: DJIA falls to 7,528
• July 2002: WorldCom MCI files for bankrupcty
• July 30th, 2002: Sarbanes-Oxley Act signed into law
• December 1th, 2003: The DJIA closes above 10,000
• August 19th, 2004: Google IPO
• February 14th, 2006: DJIA closes above 11,000
• October 19th, 2006: DJIA closes above 12,000
• April 25th, 2007: DJIA closes above 13,000
• July 19th, 2007: DJIA closes above 14,000
• October 9, 2007: DJIA hits an all-time high of 14,164.53
• November 23, 2007: DJIA closes below 13,000
• January 2, 2008: Crude rises above $100/bbl
• March 7, 2008: DJIA closes below 12,000
• July 15th, 2008: DJIA closes below 11,000
• July, 2008: Oil peaks above $147/bbl
• September 7th, 2008: U.S. Government Seizes GSEs Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
• September 14th, 2008: Bank of America announces acquisition of Merrill Lynch @ $29/Share
• September 15th, 2008: Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy
• September 16th, 2008: AIG receives an $85 billion infusion from the Federal Reserve
• Setpember 26th, 2008: Washington Mutual fails, Federal Reserve arranges asset sale to JPMorgan
• October, 2008: Crude falls $100
• October 6th, 2008: Dow closes below 10,000
• October 9th, 2008: Dow closes below 9,000
• November 19th, 2008: Dow closes below 8,000
• November, 2008: Crude falls below $60/bbl
• January 20th, 2008: Crude settles $38.74/bbl
• January 20th, 2008: DJIA closes at 7,949.09

Following the Clinton years of fiscal responsibility and constant growth, the Bush years can be termed anything but stable. And while most Americans are glad to see Bush go, investors counting on a Wall Street miracle from Obama could find themselves left for wanting. Systemic risks remain, the wild rise isn?t over yet.