The Doomsday Machine

The outbreak and spread of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 have caused the most of countries into severe economic difficulties and also created an adverse impact on the global economy. The beginning of the financial crisis is defaults in the subprime mortgage market in the USA. Although the global economy seems to recover since 2009, the impacts of the crisis still affect many countries until now. This essay focuses on the background and impacts of financial crisis, and the learning from the movie The Big Short.

In Frontline’s The Meltdown, the causes of the stock market crash of 2008 came into discussion. The topics regarding Bear Stearns, the Lehman Brothers’ and their collapse, and the huge bailout made in results to the market crash. There were great points being made on the mistakes Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke did not view from their perspective, which in turns were the problems that made up the crash.

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense was one of many books to be published in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis of 2007. After seeing the global economy stall in the face of massive losses in word financial markets, many Americans sought to better understand the crisis and its causes. This book, written from the perspective of a financial market insider, provides a glimpse into the world of global finance and also seeks to explain how the players in this world were involved in the crisis. In the words of the author Lawrence McDonald, “My objective in writing A Colossal Failure of Common Sense was twofold. First, to provide … a close-up, inside view of how markets really work…..And, second, to give… as crystal clear an explanation as possible about the real reasons why the legendary Lehman Brothers met with such a swift end”1. By writing about his personal experience at Lehman Brothers and recounting stories from within the famous investment banking firm, Mr. McDonald largely succeeds at his first goal. However, the elements of personal biography and the chronological order of the book make it difficult for the reader to fully appreciate all of the varied causes of the financial crash. I believe that the main value of reading this book is in understanding these causes, with Lehman Brothers acting as a microcosm of the greater financial universe. As such, in this review I have isolated elements from Mr. McDonald’s book which highlight how the crisis

“Lehman Collapse Sends Shockwave around the World” Reads the British newspaper, The Times, as the world sinks further into the recession in September 2008. The housing collapse was orchestrated and perpetrated by a system created by investment banks to allow them to make money, by keep the American people in debt, even when the banks knew the loans would default. The investing banking system was left unchecked by the United States government because it did not have the regulations as did the depository banks. There was immoral investing in people’s retirement, pensions, and homes where it created at housing collapse, in which thousands of people over paid in their subprime loans and lost their homes in the process. The federal Reserve is a very selfish and heartless entity in America that has had powerful influence in American politics for decades. The Federal Reserve must be dissolved and succeeded by a federalized entity that has no obligation to any investors. It must contain checks and balances to create a fair playing field. It must not benefit one group of people, but the nation as a whole. Finally, the new banking structure must be solid to keep necessities at steady prices, and must not work on speculation. Prior to “the Fed”, two previous central banking systems were in place, but were limited on how long they influenced (both twenty years) their interest in government, and twice, both banking system were not allowed renewal because many political figures,

With the United States only now beginning to recover from the throes of the Great Recession, the good American worker (armed with nightmarish memories of mass unemployment and bankruptcy) generally views large amounts of debt in a negative light, with television pundits regularly criticizing the federal government for the $18 trillion of national debt. Entire generations of Americans have been conditioned to view debtors as moochers and failures, unwilling to work hard in order to earn their own money. This negative opinion of debt is further compounded with the historic negative effects of debt: complete loss of assets, homelessness, and bankruptcy. However, contrary to public opinion, the national debt—and, in fact, all debts—will act

Over the last half century, our government has been increasing in size. Hamilton might say this is good in terms of centralized government but he also noted that humans are weak and tempted, especially those who are motivated by their own self-interest. The enormous size of government makes opportunities for corruption. By reducing the size of our government, we are cutting spending and overall reducing our national debt issues. One of the issues that our government had created was the housing bubble. Between 2002-2007, the government created new programs under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that guaranteed lenders their money back. This was an ultimate opportunity for bankers to take greater risks than ever before. They can keep their profits if it goes according to plan. But if not, the government would step in and bail them out. The current National Debt level is $18T and rising. Year after year, our government has been spending more than what we can afford. Abide by the Constitution of the United States, we can help reduce the overall size of the government. Smaller and smarter government means lower taxes thus creating an environment for small businesses to develop and

History helped to recognize the parallels between these eras and learn from them. The crisis of 2008 was not nearly as bad as the Great Depression, but like the Depression consumers lost trust in the market and were afraid to invest in the economy. The Housing Crash catastrophe, like the Great Depression contributed to the failure of banking institutions and led to high unemployment rates. Unlike the Great Depression, the crisis of 2008 was supported by more than a dozen economic stimulus packages provided by the federal government to jumpstart the economy. The federal government stepped in to bailout the banking institutions to avoid another Great Depression. It is important to look back on the history of these two national devastations and learn from their mistakes so we can be better prepared for future economic downfalls in the

Investors and mortgage holders owe so much money to different firms that is has become almost an irreversible meltdown. The government tried to raise and cut taxes where they think they can get caught up and it doesn’t change. Money is owed by nearly every institution as well as the day to day expenses that each one occurs. Homes in major cities around the country lay to waste leaving blocks of run-down wasteland. Jobs and unemployment are just now starting to stabilize. Th economy is making a slow change for the good, but you must take baby steps after you fall. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Chart October 2007 unemployment was at 4.7% and rose to 10% by the year 2009 and everything from construction to professional and business services decreased by an average of 37.4% (Bereau Of Labor Statistics). These statistics are horrible and one can only hope we do not repeat our mistakes. A conclusion can now be made with all the factors stated

There were warning signs that trouble was on the horizon for the stock market. On March twenty-fifth, 1929, a mini-crash occurred in the stock market. Prices began to drop causing panic across the country. Reassurances from banks that they would keep lending stopped the panic. As spring approached in 1929, even more signs popped up as warnings the economy might be headed downhill: house construction went down, steel production decreased, and car sales lowered. A few people were sending out warnings of a serious setback coming to the stock market, however, these people were

The Big Short is a movie that discusses the housing market crash in 2008. As you may know, the banks, the mortgage brokers, and the consumers were all affected by this collapse. On each level of the system, there were things that went wrong and that could have been changed that could have prevented the failure of the housing market.

Markets are places which people come together to trade stuffs, and stock market is an exchange where investors come together to buy and sell shares of publicly-treaded companies. (“The Financial Importance of the US Stock Market”) It’s good for our society in a great many ways, but it also can be harmful since people’s desire of money are fully exhibited in stock market. The Great Crash, happened in 1929, was not the event of one day but a series of events stretched initially across the week from October 23 through October 31. (Klein 326) This crisis had seriously impacted the U.S. by losing nearly 90 percent of the value of the stock market at that time. (Bierman) However, different from other events happened in the history, both government and normal people tended to blame the speculators at that time and avoid further investigations of it, but is the cause

When the ‘The Big Short’ secured the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards it was clear that Michael Lewis’ pivotal book on the financial crash of 2008, had resonated with both film and book audiences. The triumph of Lewis’ investigative book is that it got the scoop on a saga that financial journalists, regulators and political authorities failed to uncover.

Two events or portrayals happened: (1) As of my research one of the accurate portrayal or scene in the film in terms of the market is that all men had pin-point the problem about the mortgage securities, particularly the inflation risk of subprime market. It is also accurate, many people including the chairman of the Federal Reserve do not agree to the housing market bubble. (2) The portrayals of the characters are very much accurate to the real character based on the true story. Like Burry who was really a stock market investor at the Scion Capital. Mark Baum a portrayal of Steve Eisman. Jared Vennett who was a portrayal of Greg Lippman and other men major characters. They were a truly and accurately a portrayal of the true business men in

Most people, when asked, would easily refer to the Great Depression as the most significant financial crisis to hit the U.S. economy. Even though in 2008, a financial crisis occurred that spread from the U.S. to capital markets and countries around the world. The lack of knowledge about this catastrophe is mainly due to the fact that there is no clear cause behind the crisis. The blame has been placed on many different causes, but there is no clear consensus on one definite reason for everyone to point their fingers. Many books have been written with different perspectives of the financial crisis of 2008, the purpose of this assignment was to choose one and summarize its view of the crisis. I chose to read and evaluate The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine written by financial journalist Michael Lewis.

Housing prices in the United States rose steadily after the World War II. Although some research indicated that the financial crisis started in the US housing market, the main cause of the financial crisis between 2007 and 2009 was actually the combination of housing bubble and credit boom. The banks created so much loan that pushed the housing price to the peak. As the bank lend out a huge amount of money, the level of individual debt also rose along with the housing price. Since the debt rose faster than people’s income, people were unable to repay their loan and bank found themselves were in danger. As this showed a signal for people, people withdrew money from the banks they considered as “safe” before, and increased the “haircuts” on repos and difficulties experienced by commercial paper issuers. This caused the short term funding market in the shadow banking system appeared a