Sat, 20 March 2010
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The financial crisis of 2008 was uncompromising in its destruction of reputations and unsparing in its treatment of investors, many of whom were blown on the rocks by the forces that ripped through markets.Across the world, people felt the pain of plunging stock markets through stock market portfolios or pension funds, but several incidents of bad luck, poor timing or financial stupidity stand out among the wreckage.
The scandal surrounding Bernard Madoff, a former scion of Wall Street, is a fitting end to a catastrophic year for the financial sector with an alleged pyramid investment scheme apparently duping billionaires out of millions.
Among other notable losers of the year, British billionaire investor and football club owner Joe Lewis was caught conspicuously taking a punt on Bear Stearns shortly before the now-defunct US bank collapsed.
Having made millions betting successfully on the collapse of the British pound and the Mexican peso, Lewis reportedly spent more than 800 million dollars building a stake in Bear Stearns at more than 100 dollars a share.
In Asia and the Middle East, the managers of state investment funds spent the year watching the value of their ill-timed investments in Western banks in late 2007 and early 2008 – estimated at 50-60 billion dollars – turn from bad to worse.
They stepped forward to help recapitalise European and US banks that had been hit by early subprime loan and securities losses, but following further problems many have since been part-nationalised.
Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in France.
Here's a short introduction to our Where to Live section for France.
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