Financial Crisis 2008
The historical narrative, “Inside the Meltdown” by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS, 2017), is a narration of the events that led to the rapid collapse of the company, Bear Stearns. Bear Stearns is considered one of the largest securities trading and investment bank of all times. According to the narrative, among the reasons that led to the collapse of the company were its inability to raise private capital to enable the management of its daily operations. As a result, it incurred massive debts that precipitated its bankruptcy. However, the federal reserve for fear that collapse of the investment bank would spark a chain of institutional bankruptcies partnered with JP Morgan Chase to avail a 29.5 billion dollar loan to bailout Bear Stearns. According to the narrator, the downfall of Bear Stearns marked the beginning of a financial crisis that would shale the world and cause a global recession.
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Ideally, the narrator provides a compelling narrative of how the company’s position started to dwindle up to the time of its collapse. He explains, through various first-person narratives, the role and impact of rumor mills, as well as the role of the media in influencing the reaction of investors as far as investing in the company is concerned. As a result of a vote of no confidence and people withdrawing their stocks from the company, the company’s stock value started to fall. Of crucial importance is Bear Stearns chronology of failure and the attempt by the government to try and rescue the