Great Depression, Great Recession: What 1929 can teach us about 2009

How do you commemorate the worst stock market crash in history? With the news that another devastating economic implosion may be nearing its end. That's where America finds itself on the 80th anniversary of the Great Depression -- reacting to the first positive GDP numbers in a year, slowly pulling itself out of the Great Recession, and looking for ways to make sure the country doesn't wind up mired in a decade of dismal economic conditions similar to the one that began 80 years ago on Oct. 29, 1929.

Analysts and market watchers have been comparing the two meltdowns all year, and investors can take note of the similarities in their causes as they consider how to navigate their portfolios through the aftermath (we hope) of the most recent one.