Financial Shock: Global Panic and Government Bailouts--How We Got Here and What Must Be Done to Fix It, CourseSmart eTextbook

The subprime crisis and the global financial panic it triggered will impact every one of us profoundly, for years, and perhaps even decades. What happened? And how can we prevent it from happening again? In Financial Shock, Revised and Expanded Edition, Dr. Mark Zandi answers these questions: thoroughly, carefully, and in plain English. This new edition has been systematically updated for the latest events, with insights into the dynamics of the worldwide Fall 2008 financial collapse, the freezing of credit markets, the extraordinary actions governments have taken in response, and the massive economic fallout. Zandi begins with a fast-paced "history" of the crisis: where it started, how it spread, and the damage it has caused. Next, he illuminates its deepest causes, ranging from the psychology of homeownership to Alan Greenspan's missteps, Internet technology to state-of-the-art financial engineering. After surveying the wreckage, Zandi previews the radically different financial system that is likely to emerge next, and offers more detailed and specific recommendations for policymakers and regulators. Along the way, readers will gain indispensable insights for protecting their own futures, managing their own investments, and navigating their organizations to safety.

Acknowledgments . . . viii

About the Author . . . ix

Introduction . . . 1

Chapter 1: Subprime Précis . . . 9

Chapter 2: Sizing Up Subprime . . . 33

Chapter 3: Everyone Should Own a Home . . . 49

Chapter 4: Chairman Greenspan Counts on Housing . . . 67

Chapter 5: Global Money Men Want a Piece . . . 81

Chapter 6: Bad Lenders Drive Out the Good . . . 97

Chapter 7: Financial Engineers and Their Creations . . . 113

Chapter 8: Home Builders Run Aground . . . 131

Chapter 9: As the Regulatory Cycle Turns . . . 145

Chapter 10: Boom, Bubble, Bust, and Crash . . . 161

Chapter 11: Credit Crunch . . . 175

Chapter 12: Timid Policymakers Turn Bold . . . 193

Chapter 13: Economic Fallout . . . 233

Chapter 14: Back to the Future . . . 251

Endnotes . . . 273

Index . . . 285