Too Big to Fail - Andrew Ross Sorkin [315]
“To address the perception that some institutions”: “Remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. on the U.S., the World Economy and Markets before the Chatham House,” July 2, 2008. See http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1064.htm
Spaso House: See moscow.usembassy.gov/spaso.html
private sessions with Medvedev and Putin: David Lawder, “Paulson in Russia to Meet with Medvedev, Putin,” Reuters, June 29, 2008.
“best practices”: “Putin—No Sovereign Wealth Fund in Russia Yet,” Reuters, June 30, 2008.
CHAPTER TEN
rehire Michael Gelband and Alex Kirk: See Susanne Craig, “Gelband, Kirk Rejoin Lehman in Shake-Up,” Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2008; Jed Horowitz, “Lehman’s New President McDade Brings in His Own Team,” Dow Jones, June 25, 2008.
classmates at the University of Michigan Business School: Susanne Craig, “Lehman Vet Grapples With the Firm’s Repair,” Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2008.
on Little St. Simons Island: to Paulson’s calendar, he left Dulles Airport at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, July 4, 2008, headed for Georgia, where he would “REMAIN OVERNIGHT” for three nights.
Paulsons bought up three quarters of the ten-thousand-acre property: Mary Jane Credeur, “Paulson’s Georgia Investment Rises as Blind Trust Becomes Joke,” Bloomberg News, January 14, 2008.
“The U.S. economy is…facing a trio of headwinds.: From Paulson’s speech in London on the U.S., the world economy and markets, July 2, 2008. See http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/hp1064.htm.
brother, Richard Paulson, worked as a fixed-income salesman in Lehman’s Chicago office: Anita Raghavan, “Paulson Brothers On Either Side of Lehman Divide,” Forbes, September 12, 2008.
reporting a $708 million loss: After restating its first quarterly loss since 2001 (it had mistakenly reported $393 million), Wachovia ousted Ken Thompson as chairman and—a month later—as CEO. See David Mildenberg and Hugh Son, “Wachovia Ousts Thompson on Writedowns, Share Plunge,” Bloomberg News, June 2, 2008.
flown back home on a private chartered jet to Dulles Airport: According to his calendar, Paulson left Georgia at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, July 7, arriving back in Washington, D.C., at 3:42 p.m.
Freddie tumbled as much as 30 percent: On Monday, July 7, 2008, Fannie Mae shares fell $3.04, or 16.2 percent, to $15.74, their lowest since 1992, while Freddie stock was down $2.59, or 17.9 percent, to $11.91, its lowest since 1993. See James R. Hagerty and Serena Ng, “Mortgage Giants Take Beating On Fears Over Loan Defaults,” Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2008.
Fannie shares slid 16.2 percent: Ibid.
wrote that revised accounting rules might require Fannie and Freddie to raise: Harting Report released on Monday, July 7, 2008. Aaron Lucchetti, “How Fannie/Freddie Selldown Went Down,” Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2008.
“the closest thing I’ve seen to a holy war”: In February 2007, Paulson told the House of Representatives’ budget committee: “I feel very strongly that we need a regulator that’s independent, got more muscle, and a number of other changes…. I also know people feel very strongly on both sides of this issue. I’ve never witnessed anything quite like this. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to a holy war.” “US House to Have GSE Bill by End-Mar,” Reuters, February 7, 2007.
“we are the equivalent of a Federal Reserve system for housing”: Franklin Raines, as reported by David A. Vise, “The Financial Giant That’s in Our Midst,” Washington Post, January 15, 1995.
55 percent of the $11 trillion US Mortgage market: Shannon D. Harrington and Dawn Kopecki, “Fannie, Freddie Downgraded by Derivatives Traders,” Bloomberg, July 9, 2008.
n moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending: Steven A. Holmes, “Fannie Mae Eases Credit to Aid Mortgage Lending,” New York Times, September 30, 1999.
“[We] always won,