Tag Archives: Lehman Brothers

What did the investment bankers at Bear Stearns ever do to earn their millions of dollars in bonuses? Where were the regulators when traders at Bear and other Wall Street firms peddled trillions of dollars in mortgage-backed bonds and derivatives, only to realize, too late, that no one had a clue what they were worth? The author keeps the you-are-there factor high much like a Shakespeare play, complete with three acts and characters dialoguing their way on and off stage. Words: 689

Readers are introduced to a host of little-known Lehmanites, many of whom vilify the company's top management, among others. Lehman "was headed directly for the biggest subprime iceberg ever seen," but unlike the captain of the RMS Titanic, McDonald writes, CEO Dick Fuld and his No. 2, Joe Gregory, didn't try to swerve. Words: 560