Inside the Meltdown

By duckmaster1

  • 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.