Tag: cure

An ancient Chinese curse proclaims: "May you live in interesting times." Most certainly 2008 qualifies as economically interesting. It’s unlikely that anyone predicted last New Year’s Day the problems destined to befall investment banking firms Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, prominent mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, IndyMac and Washington Mutual Banks, global financial services titan Merrill Lynch, government-sponsored mortgage guarantee enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurance giant American International Group, to mention only the more prominent institutions experiencing distress.