The Stock Market Game Fall 2008 Kickoff

The Stock Market Game is a curriculum-based teaching tool that allows students to invest a hypothetical $100,000 online stock portfolio to learn about long-term saving and investing.

In terms of recent events and their impact on the market, this semester of The Stock Market Game is shaping up to be an exciting one.

While the Beijing Olympics and gold medal wonder boy, Michael Phelps, monopolized the headlines over the summer, the hot topic as of late has been the Democratic and Republican Conventions. "Change" has become the buzz word for both Obama and McCain and it's what's needed right now in terms of the current economic climate as news from Wall Street continues to be bleak.

In just a few short months, Freddie Mac (FRE Quote) and Fannie Mae (FNM Quote) imploded. Bear Stearns needed rescuing from JP Morgan Chase (JPM Quote) and the Fed, and there was a formal run on the bank at IndyMac which regulators are calling the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. And then there is the ever softening housing market with 1.2 million homes in foreclosure. To make matters worse, this weekend's headlines are focusing on unemployment. The jobless rate has surged to its highest level in five years to 6.1% which is weaker than forecasted. Wall Street is responding with a drop in the Dow, S&P 500, as well as the Nasdaq Composite Index. ...