We show that the stock market downturns of 2000-2002 and 2007-2009 have very different proximate causes. The early 2000's saw a large increase in the discount rates applied to profits by rational investors, while the late 2000's saw a decrease in rational expectations of future profits. We reach...

We show that the stock market downturns of 2000-2002 and 2007-2009 have very different proximate causes. The early 2000's saw a large increase in the discount rates applied to profits by rational investors, while the late 2000's saw a decrease in rational expectations of future profits. We reach...

The covariance between US Treasury bond returns and stock returns has moved considerably over time. While it was slightly positive on average in the period 1953--2009, it was unusually high in the early 1980''s and negative in the 2000''s, particularly in the downturns of 2000--02 and 2007--09....