And Then the Roof Caved In: How Wall Street's Greed and Stupidity Brought Capitalism to Its Knees - Hardcover

Faber, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470474238 ISBN 13: 9780470474235

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2009

Synopsis

CNBC's David Faber takes an in-depth look at the causes and consequences of the recent financial collapse

And Then the Roof Caved In lays bare the truth of the credit crisis, whose defining emotion at every turn has been greed, and whose defining failure is the complicity of the U.S. government in letting that greed rule the day. Written by CNBC's David Faber, this book painstakingly details the truth of what really happened with compelling characters who offer their first-hand accounts of what they did and why they did it.

Page by page, Faber explains the events of the previous seven years that planted the seeds for the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. He begins in 2001, when the Federal Reserve embarked on an unprecedented effort to help the economy recover from the attacks of 9/11 by sending interest rates to all time lows. Faber also gives you an up-close look at where the crisis was incubated and unleashed upon the world-Wall Street-and introduces you to insiders from investment banks and mortgage lenders to ratings agencies, that unwittingly conspired to insure lending standards were abandoned in the head long rush for profits.

• Based on two years of research, this book provides deep background into the current credit crisis
• Offers the insights of experienced professionals-from Alan Greenspan to prominent bankers and regulators-who were on the front lines
• Created by David Faber, the face of morning business news on CNBC, and host of the network's award winning documentaries

From regulators who tried to stop this problem before it swung out of control to hedge fund managers who correctly foresaw the coming housing crash and profited from it, And Then the Roof Caved In shows you how the crisis we currently face came to be.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

CNBC's David Faber unmasks the truth behind the economic crisis, whose defining theme at every turn has been greed. Greed that, when coupled with the regulatory failure of the U.S. government, was allowed to rule the day.

And Then the Roof Caved In painstakingly details what really happened to cause the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression. Written by David Faber—the award-winning correspondent who has covered Wall Street for more than two decades—this compelling story is filled with the firsthand accounts of the bankers and regulators who unleashed this crisis on the world. They tell Faber what they did and why they did it.

Faber traces the lineage of the subprime industry and takes you back to the attacks of 9/11, after which Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan embarked on an unprecedented effort to help the economy recover by sending interest rates to all-time lows. Faber details the precipitous drop in lending standards, which allowed people with marginal incomes to take on mortgages they could not afford, and explains how those mortgages came back to wreck the financial system.

And Then the Roof Caved In also reveals where this crisis was incubated—Wall Street—and introduces you to insiders from investment banks and mortgage lenders who fostered the boom and, in doing so, planted the seeds for such an astonishing economic collapse. Throughout the book, Faber weaves a narrative that takes you from subprime lenders like Quick Loan Funding and big investment banks like Merrill Lynch to regulators who tried to stop the crisis before it spiraled out of control and hedge fund managers who correctly foresaw the coming housing crash and profited from it.

Engaging and informative, And Then the Roof Caved In offers a definitive, up-close and personal analysis of the roots of this stunning worldwide economic failure.

From the Back Cover:

And Then the Roof Caved In skillfully explores the causes and consequences of the recent financial collapse. Written by David Faber—the award-winning CNBC correspondent—this compelling account is filled with the candid reflections of the people who brought the crisis to life. Expanded from the CNBC documentary that the New York Times called "broad, comprehensive, and compelling," and that Frank Rich noted as "superbly done," this book is a must-read.

"Historians investigating the financial collapse of '08/'09 must begin by reading this book. This is close-range reporting . . . the work of a veteran financial journalist who was 'present at the creation' of this crisis. Faber has it all, up close the people, failures, and greed. He tells us what it was like to be on the inside when the roof caved in."
—Brian Williams, Anchor and Managing Editor, NBC Nightly News

"Faber has written a masterful insider's guide to the implosion of the American financial system. He takes you as close as Greenspan's early worries and then shows you how the disastrous hair-triggers built into the system fired off—and how a few bright minds turned disaster into great fortunes. Faber brings readers right inside his notebook—long regarded as the best in financial news—and emerges with a story that is breathtaking."
—Joshua Ramo, author, The Age of the Unthinkable and Managing Director, Kissinger Associates

"There is no one better than David Faber when it comes to following the financial services business. His incredible access and valuable insights make his reporting a 'must-see' for millions of viewers around the world. Now, he's written a book that is a 'must-read' for anyone who wants to understand how a housing bubble turned into a worldwide economic crisis."
—Joe Kernen, Anchor, CNBC's Squawk Box  

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0470474238
• ISBN 13: 9780470474235
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192