NEW YORK—The last trading day of 2008 on Wall Street provided a merciful end to an abysmal year—the worst since the Great Depression, wiping out $6.9 trillion in stock market wealth.

Six years of stock gains disappeared as the economy crumbled and markets crashed around the globe, shaking the confidence of professional and individual investors alike.

But the year’s chaos went far beyond the stock market. Credit markets that drive lending became paralyzed, plunging the country further into recession and touching off an unprecedented rush for the safety of Treasury bills,...

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