Way OT: Frontline Documentary on Financial Crisis
For those of you interested in finance, Frontline has done a tremendous documentary on the recent financial crisis. It is a four part series (currently parts one and two are out) with tremendous detail. You can watch it here. I have written a blog post on it, Inside Job, and some of my quick thoughts on the financial crisis here.
I would highly recommend watching this for those of you still in school and are thinking about working in finance. At least when I was interviewing, there were definitely questions on the crisis (although that was about two years ago). However, you should definintely watch it regardless of just interview preperation to gain a broader understanding of the industry and the recent turmoil.
Well, there's no way that this could get political.
Like Charlie Brown trying to be Brendan Gibbons (Lucy was a brunette girl, after all.), I'm gonna leave this up to see if we can have this discussion without delving into politics.
Please be good, or I'll artificially inflate the number of MGoPoints on this blog, divide this blog into traunches, sell derivatives of those traunches as securities, and make a fortune until the whole thing collapses. Then won't you feel bad?
OMG THAT WOULD BE JUST LIKE [INSERT POLITICAL FIGURE THAT I IDEOLOGICALLY DISAGREE WITH HERE]
STOP BRINGING UP BENJAMIN HARRISON. His handling of the admission of North Dakota to the Union is off limits on this blog.
HARRISON WAS THE WORST PRESIDENT EVER. HIS STANCE ON SILVER COINAGE IS RUINING THE COUNTRY.
Bolivian. One hour.
Edit: Apparently this is over...oh well.
Oh, you'd like to believe that, wouldn't you...
White flag. Points restored.
Our long blog nightmare is over. Now is a time for healing"
You have to give Harrison credit for solidifying American fishing rights around the Aleutians, as well as being the first President whose voice is actually preserved on a phonograph cylinder.
HARRISON WAS NO CLEVELAND OR ARTHUR, BUT HE WAS BETTER THAN HAYES!
I appraciate this type of comedy of MGo because it would pass oveer the heads of any other board. Even though I'm inebriated I love MGo.
YOUR TOASTER WAS A FALSE PRESIDENT! CONGRESS JUST HANDED HIM THE 1820 ELECTION AFTER IT WAS CLEAR MY HOOSIER CABINET HAD FAR MORE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, NOT TO MENTION MY CABINET WON THE DECISIVE BATTLE OF THE WAR OF 1812* WHILE YOUR TOASTER WAS OFF IN RUSSIA BEING A DANDY!
* So decisive in fact it ended the war before the battle even happened!
opened up the best duckhunting state EVER.
Points trickle down though... if the people with less than 100 points want to post their own content then they just need to post more quality content. Without those who have a large amount of points starting board topics and diaries, those with less points wouldn't be able to comment and earn points of their own.
April 26th, 2012 at 10:10 PM ^
I'm definitely well within the 99%. I just like quality products. I don't own that watch.
to hit all of them. It's like free money! Yes, it does require work, so it won't be popular with everyone.
That's like owning a home where you owe a lot more than the house is actually worth and then buying a new house below market value and letting the first house go back to the bank. Great idea, count me in.
BACK TO YOUR TURNIPS!!!
Occupy MGoBlog!!!
April 26th, 2012 at 10:13 PM ^
like, all day when I'm supposed to be, you know, "working".
Wait, who the hell are you?
Mr. A goes to buy a $100 lamp for his home to Mr. B. Mr. B then pays Mr. C $100 on a loan. Mr. C then pays Mr. D on a stock buy to Mr. E. Now here comes the fun, Mr. A's wife says the lamp sucks and tells her husband to take it back. Who got fucked?
Thanks
...if he doesn't keep his wife happy by returning the lamp, Mr. A certainly won't be fucked for a while.
This can't end well.
You know that there's 2 game 7's and the NFL draft on tonight right?
Who the fuck cares???????
April 27th, 2012 at 12:40 AM ^
Negative on the living with Mommy and Daddy sunshine. I was just one of the few who was smart enough not to tie all of my money up in some huge corporate bullshit.
April 27th, 2012 at 11:05 AM ^
So what about all the people who lost their retirement/pension money? They don't really control what those funds invest in. Were they just not smart enough, unlike you? Should they just have left their money in a savings account in the bank?
April 27th, 2012 at 11:45 AM ^
I don't have any idea about what they should do. I was thinking about finally inventing the suicide booth today. Maybe they could test out the prototype
I'll steer clear of politics, and add only this: If you want a more in-depth look at the same subject matter, read "Confidence Men," by WSJ reporter Ron Suskind. I just finished it. Without giving away my political leanings, I will say this: it skewers everyone. And the fundamental problems (Glass-Steagal's repeal, for example, is still in place; it was repealed in '99 and knocked down the walls between investment banks and commercial banks) are still largely there, despite the disaster of 2008.
But yeah, I don't know how we can have this discussion without a lot of uneducated conjecture and, well, I fear that it will get political. . .
I saw the first part of that documentary and it was well worth watching, I never thought a Frontline doc on the economic crisis could be riveting, but I could not change the channel once I started watching. As far as politics, there is plenty of blame to go around, people on both sides of the hall turned their back on middle America. What stuck with me most was the analyst who said "It was the savers that were being penalized." As a hard worker and a saver that made me want to go through the roof.
That being said, I will be watching the draft and the Lions tonight.
i am a UM JD/MBA '98 and i lived through that shit and think that miniseries should be required viewing for life. if i were to channel my inner JJ White he would agree with me. i liked your post too; didn't agree with all of it but will concede you are much brighter than me. I. whichever.
I remember one JD/MBA graduate from 1998 joining Goldman "Gaint Squid" Sachs I-banking. You might be that person.
I totally agree with that. I'm still trying to understand it fully myself, despite being somewhat immersed in that world here in NYC and surrounded by people who witnessed it firsthand. I think this documentary does the best job of condensing everything into a narrative that can easily be understood by most people.
Thanks for the link. FRONTLINE is such a fantastic show. I live overseas and didn't know this was the recent documentary topic. I'll be watching today.
This thread reminds me of why I miss college football so much.
Oh no an intellectual thread! Run for the hills.