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the beginning of trouble
By summer '07 the housing market is in trouble. prices are falling and inventories and foreclosures are rising. -
rumors begin
Rumors that Bear Stearns is in trouble starts circulating on March 10, 2008. -
CEO on CNBC
Bear's CEO, Alan Schwartz, goes on CNBC and is confronted with the question of whether or not Bear's most important client Goldman Sachs is beginning to desert the firm. -
need a buyer
The Race to find a buyer. Prohibited from directly lending to Bear, The Fed works out a plan to loan money to JP Morgan who in turn will loan the money to Bear. -
Paulson's important message
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sends a message that "Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed to Fail" Bear Stocks sell for $2 a share. -
stocks fall
Fannie and Freddie the world's largest mortgage lenders are hammered by losses related to the housing crisis. In mid-July their stocks fall more than 60 percent. -
Fed takes over
Fed takes control of Fannie and Freddie. -
45% stock plunge
Legman's Stock Plunges 45%. They had made billions in the new-toxic, high-risk real estate market and couldn't secure extra financing from other banks. They had no success. -
no bailout for Lehman
Concerned about moral hazard, Paulson makes clear that there will be no bailout for Lehman. -
huge stockmarket downfall
After Lehman goes under, the stock market nosedives and global credit markets freeze. -
Rescue plan
Paulson and Bernanke go to Congress to present a rescue plan to congressional leadership. "If we don't do this, we may not have an economy on Monday," warns Bernanke.