Facebook went public Friday May 18, 2012 almost three years into a recovery, while Lehman Brothers collapsed Monday September 15 2008, almost a year into a recession. Here is how the equity markets looked in both of those weeks:   

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost only 28 points the week of the Lehman collapse, yet dumped 449  points the week of Facebook.   

The Nasdaq gained 71 points the week of the Lehman collapse deep into the Bush recession, yet lost 129 points the week of Facebook, deep into the Stimulus recovery.   

The S&P 500 gained five points the week of the Lehman collapse which took place well into the "worst recession since the great depression," yet Lost 56 point the week of "good-times-are-back" Facebook.   

Of all three major indexes, the S&P 500 reflects the broadest understanding as to where firms stand in terms of investors' returns. Well, the week of Facebook, the Index closed at 1,295, while the week of the Lehman collapse it closed at 1,255. This proves once again, that while Lehman did indeed create problems, the economy back then was not SO bad (as McCain suggested at the time). It was the bankers who needed a bailout and Democrats who needed to win an election that jointly hyped and created a hysteria which indeed made the rest of 2008 a living hell.