Too Big to Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin [297]
supposed to be in India: Susanne Craig, “Lehman Finds Itself in Center of a Storm,” Wall Street Journal, March 18, 2008.
rumors were rampant that ING: Ibid. When asked about these rumors, an ING spokeswoman said the company would continue to offer funds but will be looking “more carefully at risk and collateral.”
Gregory, who lived in Lloyd Harbor: Lloyd Harbor was Gregory’s primary address, but he owned several other properties, including a 2.5-acre oceanfront estate in Bridgehampton and an apartment at 610 Park Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. See Michael Shnayerson, “Profiles in Panic,” Vanity Fair, January 2009.
helicopter for his daily commute: Ibid.
missed his son’s lacrosse game: Craig, “Lehman Finds Itself,” Wall Street Journal
He had led Lehman through the tragedy and subsequent disruptions of 9/11: A few days after 9/11, with Fuld leading the way, the firm relocated to the Sheraton Manhattan hotel in Midtown, where desks replaced beds and the cocktail lounge became the global finance group’s base of operations. Eight months later, in April 2002, Lehman moved into its new headquarters. See Andy Serwer, “The Improbable Power Broker: How Dick Fuld Transformed Lehman from Wall Street Also-ran to Super-hot Machine,” Fortune, April 17, 2006.
“Do we have some stuff”: Fuld, as quoted by the Financial Times: “Do we have some stuff on the books that would be tough to get rid of? Yes,” he said, referring to commercial and residential mortgage assets. “Am I worried about it? No. If you have some repricing of these things will we lose some money? Yes. Is it going to kill us? Of course not.” Ben White, “A Fighter on the Ropes,” Financial Times, June 14, 2008.
buying this new tower from Morgan Stanley: In October 2001, Morgan Stanley sold its office building, located on Broadway and West Forty-ninth Street, to Lehman Brothers for $700 million. Charles V. Bagli, “Morgan Stanley Selling Nearly Completed Office Tower to Lehman for $700 Million,” New York Times, October 9, 2001.
“We’ve been characterizing Lehman Brothers”: Joe Kernen, Squawk Box, CNBC, March 17, 2008.
DBS Group Holdings: The memo, however, didn’t mention closing any existing accounts with the firms. Patricia Kowsmann, “DBS Not Entering New Positions with Lehman–Sources,” Dow Jones Newswires, March 17, 2008.
Moody’s reaffirmed its A1 rating: Craig, “Lehman Finds Itself,” Wall Street Journal.
“It’s paving the road with cheap tar”: Fuld, as quoted by Yalman Onaran and John Helyar, “Lehman’s Last Days,” Bloomberg Markets, January 2009.
“Bear Stearns’s demise”: Ibid.
“Lehman may have to follow Bear into the confessional”: McCarty, as quoted by David Cho and Neil Irwin, “Crises of Confidence in the Markets; Federal Reserve’s Rescue of Bear Stearns Exposes Cracks in Financial System,” Washington Post, March 18, 2008.
“I don’t think we’re going bust this afternoon”: This was reported by Andrew Gowers, and while attributed to “the boss” in the Sunday Times of London, “the boss” on the line is actually Jeremy Isaacs, Lehman’s CEO for Europe and Asia, not Dick Fuld. See Andrew Gowers, “The Man Who Brought the World to Its Knees EXPOSED,” Sunday Times (London), December 14, 2008.
“I don’t care who you are”: Fuld, as reported by Gary Silverman and Charles Pretzlik, “Richard Fuld—A Cunning Player Shows His Hand,” Financial Times, August 17, 2001.
As he fumed to the Washington Post: Ianthe Jeanne Dugan, “Battling Rumors on Wall St.; Lehman Brothers Chairman Launches Aggressive Defense,” Washington Post, October 10, 1998.
“We learned we need a lot of liquidity”: Fuld, in an interview with Craig, “Lehman Finds Itself,” Wall Street Journal.
white paper he presented in Davos: Russo’s presentation, titled “Credit Crunch: Where Do We Stand?,” was originally given at the Group of Thirty meeting on November 30, 2007. He updated the paper for the World Economic Forum in January 2008. See http://www.group30.org/pubs/pub_1401.htm.
for $21 million were finished: A broker told the