Picture du Jour: 10 Largest US Bankruptcies

By Prieur du Plessis, on September 24th, 2008 posted in: Economy, Investment, Markets, Money

In an attempt to put the current financial crisis into perspective, Chart of the Day offered the fascinating chart below.

As illustrated, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers dwarfs all previous US bankruptcies. “The US government has taken the approach that some companies are ‘too big to fail’ as failure could have devastating systemic effects. In the case of Lehman Brothers, however, the bar as to what is too big has been raised – considerably.”

Source: Chart of the Day

Related article:
The Lehman Brothers Effect

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Read more on Hang Lung GRP, Lehman Brothers at Wikinvest

The Assetman

September 24, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Forget about magnitude… I want to see the extent of fraud that went on at Lehman before it imploded before our eyes. Did you notice a pattern of underlying improper behavior behind that list?

Thomas Finch

September 24, 2008 at 8:20 pm

The chart does not include Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac or AIG. They sre being reorganized by the government
instead of a bankruptcy court.

September 25, 2008 at 12:05 am

The chart does not include Fannie Mae,
Freddie Mac or AIG. They are being reorganized by the government
instead of a bankruptcy court.

Prieur du Plessis

September 26, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Some comments from Bespoke:

Bank and Broker Default Risk Soars

“As the scarecrows (‘if I only had a brain’) in Washington bicker over partisan politics, the life blood of our economy is no longer flowing. Each hour that passes that a deal doesn’t get done, a tick of GDP washes away. By the time legislation does get passed, too much damage could already have been done. …the default risk of major banks and brokers through our CDS index. As
shown, last week now looks like chump change compared to where [CDS] levels currently stand. With the no short rule in place on equities, investors have clearly voiced their opinions through the credit default swap market. The proof is in the pudding, and unfortunately Congressional members are putting their parties over their country. You have our permission to forward this to your elected officials!”