Financial Charts
| Year | S&P 500 (Approx. Year-End) | % Change | U.S. GDP (Nominal, Approx.) | % Change | U.S. National Debt (Approx.) | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1,100 | - | $12.2 Trillion | - | $7.4 Trillion | - |
| 2014 | 2,050 | 86.4% | $17.5 Trillion | 43.4% | $17.8 Trillion | 140.5% |
| 2024 | 4,700 | 129.3% | $27.0 Trillion | 54.3% | $36.2 Trillion | 112% |
% Change from Previous Period National Debt if growing faster than the GDP
Recessions
The NBER is the authority on dating U.S. recessions
98 Years of S&P 500 Bull and Bear Markets
| # | Recession Start | Recession End | Duration (Months) | Major Cause(s) | S&P 500/Dow Jones Peak-to-Trough Decline (Approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 1929 | March 1933 | 43 | Stock market crash, banking panics, monetary contraction, agricultural problems (The Great Depression) | Dow Jones: ~89% (from 381 to 41) |
| 2 | May 1937 | June 1938 | 13 | Tightening of monetary policy, premature reduction in government spending | Dow Jones: ~49% |
| 3 | February 1945 | October 1945 | 8 | Cutbacks in wartime production following World War II | Dow Jones: ~10% |
| 4 | November 1948 | October 1949 | 11 | Post-war readjustment, inventory cycle | Dow Jones: ~16% |
| 5 | July 1953 | May 1954 | 10 | Cutbacks in defense spending after the Korean War | Dow Jones: ~13% |
| 6 | August 1957 | April 1958 | 8 | Tight monetary policy, declining business investment | S&P 500: ~14% |
| 7 | April 1960 | February 1961 | 10 | Tight monetary policy, declining consumer spending | S&P 500: ~17% |
| 8 | December 1969 | November 1970 | 11 | Tight monetary policy to combat inflation | S&P 500: ~36% |
| 9 | November 1973 | March 1975 | 16 | Oil price shock (OPEC oil embargo), tight monetary policy | S&P 500: ~48% |
| 10 | January 1980 | July 1980 | 6 | Tight monetary policy to combat high inflation | S&P 500: ~17% |
| 11 | July 1981 | November 1982 | 16 | Tight monetary policy to further combat high inflation | S&P 500: ~27% |
| 12 | July 1990 | March 1991 | 8 | Oil price shock (invasion of Kuwait), tight monetary policy, savings and loan crisis | S&P 500: ~20% |
| 13 | March 2001 | November 2001 | 8 | Dot-com bubble burst, decline in business investment following the September 11 attacks | S&P 500: ~49% |
| 14 | December 2007 | June 2009 | 18 | Housing bubble burst, financial crisis, global economic downturn (The Great Recession) | S&P 500: ~57% |
| 15 | February 2020 | April 2020 | 2 | COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in widespread business closures and economic disruption | S&P 500: ~34% |