Survey of economics Discussions
Part 1:
Read the article by the Wall Street Journal: WaMu Is Seized, Sold Off to J.P. Morgan, In Largest Failure in U.S. Banking History.
Before the height of the financial crisis in 2007-2008, then general sense was that the issues were contained to certain firms with “bad luck”. This seems to be the overarching theme of the article. Reflecting on the crisis, answer the following questions:
- WaMu’s financial stability was dependent on key trends in the economy. What were those trends and what happened when those trends reversed?
- Why did the government broker the sale of WaMu to JPMorgan Chase rather than let the usual FDIC process play out?
If you could go back in time to just before the recent financial crisis and say one thing, what would you say and to whom… Do you think this is still applicable today?
Part 2:
Find a resource to help others. Write down a question you had from the book and post a link to an article, video, etc that helped you answer the question. Complete the following items.
- What question did you have? Your question should be specific, but written so that no one needs the book to understand (for example “I did not understand how to calculate opportunity cost” is sufficient, whereas “I struggled with page 15” is not).
- Post a link to the article or video that helped you answer the question. In 1-3 sentences, what answer did the authors provide?
The response to this post includes providing additional resources to answer the question or further understanding of the subject.
