To the Point
Financial Disaster and Political Opportunity
Lehman Brothers is bankrupt; Merrill Lynch will be bought by the Bank of America. With stocks plunging, Wall Street is watching to see what will happen next. Bush, Obama, McCain, Biden and Palin are all talking about limiting damage and preventing another financial catastrophe. Also, an update the disaster on the Gulf Coast.
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenLehman Brothers is bankrupt; Merrill Lynch will be bought by the Bank of America. With stocks plunging, Wall Street is watching to see what will happen next. Bush, Obama, McCain, Biden and Palin are all talking about limiting damage and preventing another financial catastrophe. Also, Hurricane Ike has produced the largest rescue operation in the history of Texas.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where in this afternoon's trading the Dow fell over 500 points. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In this episode
2 storiesMarkets Slide as Wall Street Staggers
The brokerage firm Bear Stearns got a bailout earlier this year. The federal government also agreed to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack . But over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Paulson drew the line when it came to Lehman Brothers, which has now declared bankruptcy . Merrill Lynch has sold itself off.
Read the story39 minGalveston and Houston Try to Pick Up the Pieces
Hurricane Ike has passed over Texas, but the storm is hardly over with 30 people now dead in eight states along the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest. It's been more than 48 hours since Ike struck Houston and Galveston. Nobody knows how many people are missing, and it may be weeks before many are allowed to return to what's left of their homes.
Read the story9 min
