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“We have these periods every six eight, ten years”: Daniel Gross, “The Captain of the Street,” Newsweek, September 29, 2008.
“wind-down authorities”: At a September hearing on U.S. credit markets, Paulson said, “We were not left with the authorities we needed fully to protect the system and the taxpayer, because we have wind down authorities, where the insurance or, you know, savings depositors, FDIC insurance—in 75 years, you know, we haven’t had a saver with FDIC insurance lose a penny.” See “Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Holds Hearing on U.S. Credit Markets,” Congressional Quarterly transcripts wire, September 23, 2008.
“Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval”: John Helyar and Yalman Onaran, “Fuld Sought Buffett Offer He Refused as Lehman Sank,” Bloomberg News, November 10, 2008.
CHAPTER THREE
an agitated Timothy F. Geithner took the escalator: Geithner’s plane left LaGuardia Airport at 7:00 p.m., arriving in D.C. at approximately 8:20 p.m. on Wednesday April 2, 2008. Geithner’s daily schedules at the New York Fed can be viewed online at the New York Times Web site. See http://documents.nytimes.com/geithner-schedule-new-york-fed#p=1.
“The most important risk is systemic”: “Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Washington, D.C,” April 3, 2008. See http://www.newyorkfed.org/newsevents/speeches/2008/gei080403.html.
the $29 billion government backstop: A week after the deal, J.P. Morgan agreed to cover $1 billion of Bear Stearns’s losses, lowering the Fed’s backstop to $29 billion. Robin Sidel and Kate Kelly, “J.P. Morgan Quintuples Bid to Seal Bear Deal,” Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2008.
comparing the Bear rescue unfavorably: “I have reached a certain age where I can remember quite a few things, and there are some resemblances between the present situation, I’m afraid, and the early 1970s,” said Paul Volcker, in a speech to the Economic Club of New York on April 8, 2008. See http://econclubny.org/files/Transcript_Volcker_April_2008.pdf.
“Ford to City: Drop Dead”: On October 30, 1975, this New York Daily News headline appeared on the front page, a day after President Gerald Ford said publicly that there would no federal bailouts for a near bankrupt New York. Ford later lamented that he had never actually used the words “drop dead” in his speech. Sam Roberts, “Infamous ‘Drop Dead’ Was Never Said by Ford,” New York Times, December 28, 2006.
after announcing a record loss: On Sunday, November 4, 2007, Citigroup held an emergency board meeting, which revealed that there could be up to $11 billion in additional subprime write-downs. Later that day Citi installed Robert Rubin as chairman and released this statement from Prince: “It is my judgment that given the size of the recent losses in our mortgage-backed securities business, the only honorable course for me to take as chief executive officer is to step down. This is what I advised the board.” Jonathan Stempel and Dan Wilchins, “Citigroup CEO Prince Expected to Resign,” Reuters, November 4, 2007; Tomoeh Murakami Tse, “Citigroup CEO Resigns,” Washington Post, November 5, 2007.
“I’m not the right choice”: Jo Becker and Gretchen Morgenson, “Member and Overseer of Finance Club,” New York Times, April 27, 2009.
making $398,200 a year: Geithner’s salary in 2008 has been reported as being $411,200, but this figure also includes the first two weeks of 2009. Scott Lanman, “Geithner Nomination Takes Top Fed Wall Street Liaison,” Bloomberg News, November 24, 2008; Robert Schmidt, “Geithner Takes Salary Cut to Run Treasury, Bloomberg News, Gets Fed Severance,” January 27, 2008.
his monthly $80 haircut: Joseph Berger, “Suddenly, There’s a Celebrity Next Door,” New York Times, January 2, 2009.
punctuating sentences with “fuck”: “A reassuring figure for Treasury,” The Economist, November 22, 2008.
“He’s twelve years old!”: Robert Rubin recalled Pete Peterson telling him this after meeting Timothy Geithner. Peterson, when later asked about the comment, only remembered saying that Geithner looked young. Greg