Tuesday, March 17, 2009
By the Way / Hannan / The Economy Happy Anniversary! Bailouts Celebrate First Birthday
Posted by Caleb Hannan on Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 12:01 PM
They grow up so fast, don't they?
A year ago today the Feds birthed the country's first bailout by buying up $30 billion in junky Bear Stearns' mortgage loans, thus allowing JP Morgan to buy the failing investment bank. 12 months later, that bouncing babe is now a full-grown man-child, responsible for nearly a trillion in taxpayer obligations covering the banking, auto and insurance industries.
Just for kicks, let's take a look back at some of the expressions of awe registered last March 17th. We were all so naive back then...
New York Times:
The deal for Bear, done at the behest of the Fed and the Treasury Department, punctuates the stunning downfall of one of Wall Street's biggest and most storied firms...In an unusual move (Editor's Note: Ha!), the Fed will provide financing for the transaction, including support for as much as $30 billion of Bear Stearns's "less-liquid assets"...Wall Street was stunned by the news on Sunday night. "This is like waking up in summer with snow on the ground," said Ron Geffner, a partner Sadis & Goldberg and a former enforcement lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Washington Post::
This has been a remarkably fast fall for a titan of Wall Street. It took 85 years to build Bear Stearns and four days for it to dissolve.And just for fun, posted above is the video that will never get old: CNBC's Jim Cramer telling viewers all is well on S.S. Stearns six days before the ship went down. Ahh, memories.
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