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The Impossible Collaspe
By summer '07 the housing market is in trouble. Prices are falling and investories and foreclosures are rising. -
Rumors of Bear Falling
Rumors that Bear Stearns is in trouble starts circulating on March 10, 2008. -
Bye Bye Goldman
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. -
The Race for 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. -
Sending a Message
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sends a message that "Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed to Fail" Bear stocks sell for $2 a share. -
Fannie and Freddie taking hits
Fannie and Freddie the world's largest mortage lenders are hammered by losses related to the housing crisis. In mid-July their stocks fall more than 60%. -
Government Take Over
Feds take control of Fannie and Freddie -
Lehman expecting a save that won't come
Lehman's Stock plunges 45%. They had made billions in the now-toxic, high-risk real estate market and couldn't secure extra financing from other banks. They had no success. -
The bailout never comes for the Brothers
Concerned about moral hazard, Paulson makes clear that there will be no bailout for Lehman. -
Global Freeze
After Lehman goes under, the stock market nosedives and the global credit markets freeze. -
Go Big or Go Home
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.