Preview

Steve Eisman's The Big Short

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
598 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Steve Eisman's The Big Short
The Big Short outlines the players of one of the largest financial fiascos of all time. Steve Eisman was a graduate of Harvard Law and University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduating law school he realized he hated law. He was able to get a job at Oppenheimer and Co. as a Junior Equity Analyst because his parents were employed there. They paid his first year salary so that he could be hired. He built credibility with several company profiles that ended up correct. He was not refined as typical Wall Street characters. These characteristics made people either love him or hate him. His coworkers loved him. Those on the other end of his "truths", hated him. He would be upfront and brutal about a company that was not up to snuff. He also exposed CEOs for untruthful business people. He thrived in conflict. He questioned the status quo in everything from business to religion. During Eisman's time at Oppenheimer, mortgage bonds became popular. Mortgage bonds were different from corporate bonds. They were claims on cash flows …show more content…
He and Vinny noticed that the subprime mortgage industry only stated their earnings and very little after that. Delinquency rates were not stated. Vinny realized that something was off as well. Eisman began calling out each subprime loan originators. After quiting at Oppenheimer, Eisman went to Chilton Investment. Since all of the subprime mortgage companies went out of business, he focused on Household Finance Corp. He found they were making dishonest mortgage loans. They were also making a high number of them. He teamed up with ACORN to take action against HFC. They found that the US Attorney General had also investigated but didn’t release their findings. The subprime industry grew to the top companies in mortgage lending. Lehman bros., Bear Sterns, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Eisman and Vinny watched the market for the right time to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    “Not long ago, Countrywide Financial seemed to have everything going for it. Cofounded by Angelo Mozilo in 1969, by the early 2000s it had become the largest provider of home loans in the United States. At that time one in six U.S. loans originated with Countrywide. In 1993 its loan transactions reached the $1 trillion mark. Additionally, it was the primary provider of home loans to minorities in the United States and had lowered the barriers of homeownership for lower-income individuals. Countrywide also offered loan closing, capital market, insurance, and banking services to its clients. In the 1970s Countrywide had diversified into the securities market as well. In 1992 Countrywide created a program called “House America” that enabled more consumers to qualify for home loans, as well as to make smaller down payments. In 2003 the company proposed the “We House America” program with the goal of providing $1 trillion in home loans to low-income and minority borrowers by 2010. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Countrywide’s reputation in the industry was stellar. Fortune magazine called it the “23,000% stock” because between 1982 and 2003, Countrywide had delivered investors a 23,000 percent return, exceeding the returns of Washington Mutual, Walmart, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. In 1999 the company serviced $216.5 billion in loans. By 2000 the company’s continued increase in revenues was connected in part to home equity and subprime loans. The annual report for that year states, “Fiscal 2000 shows a higher margin for home equity and sub-prime loans (which, due in part to their higher cost structure charge a higher price per dollar loaned).” Subprime loans were a key factor in Countrywide’s immense success and rapid growth. However, the company’s reliance on a lending practice that was…

    • 2402 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The financial experts at Countrywide Financial, unethically, convinced potential borrowers that they would be able to afford the payments, even if they were to increase, because their homes would increase in value, which would provide them with more income. There are also accusations that home appraisers manipulated the system, by raising the value of homes to ensure that the loans would be approved (Freidrich et.al, ????). It is also believed that Mozilo knew that these loans were causing problems from an economic standpoint. In emails that were recovered by the SEC, Mozilo allegedly referred to their loans as “toxic product” and stated that he was concerned with the documentation within the company and the quality of their loans. (Freidrich et. al,…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sidney Poitier was born on February 20, 1927 in Miami, Florida. The book “ The Measure Of A Man” is a spiritual autobiography, written by Sidney Poitier himself. Sidney grew up in the 1900’s and in a small village in the Bahamas called “ Cat Island.” I picked this book because Sidney Poitier jvery successful man spiritually and this book explains his life and how he was successful.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Based on the true story of Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher, The Blind side opens with footage of the monumental moment when quarterback Joe Theismann got sacked by Lawrence Taylor, turning the offensive tackle into one of the highest paying positions in football but ending Theismann’s career. If you are not a football fan, The Blind Side is about Michael following in Taylor’s footsteps, but more so about how his adoption into the Tuohy family got him they’re to becoming a professional football player.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Topic #2: Why does John Galt go on strike when the Starnes heirs take over the Twentieth Century Motor Company? Do you think he is right or wrong to start a strike? Explain.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story told in Slaughterhouse Five is very much unique to its setting and the time in which it occurs. The story is told by Kurt Vonnegut, who is also a minor character in the book, about the life experiences of Billy Pilgrim during World War II. The story centers on a specific event that occurs during the war, the Allied firebombing of Dresden, Germany. This specific bombing has gone virtually unnoticed by Americans throughout history since the war due to its location, being in Germany. However, certainly the scrutiny would be much greater if such a horrendous bombing was inflicted upon Britain, America, or another Allied power. In addition, the story itself would not have been told if it were not for Vonnegut’s own unique situation…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful.” This quote comes from Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the award winning novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Many people claim to relate to Holden Caulfield because of how genuine he is with the reader. In spite of that, critics have continuously challenged the notion that Holden was a reliable narrator. Throughout the story Holden Caulfield demonstrates that he is not a reliable character because he is quick to lie, is hypocritical, and is mentally unstable.…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Those who were spiritually sensitive sensed that God preferred Bush over Gore in the 2000 Presidential election. Despite being a member of the Satanic Skull & Bones fraternity (as depicted in the Hollywood Movie “The Skulls”) and living a life of drugs and alcohol, George W. Bush had had a genuine born-again experience with Jesus changing his heart. Unfortunately, after Bush was elected he started two unethical wars (Iraq and Afghanistan). All he needed to do was pray to God and ask “God, should I start these wars?” The answer would have been an emphatic “No!” Bush then could have confronted Cheney and Rumsfeld and whomever else and said “Look, I know you want to go to war, but God told me not to.” He did not do that and tragedies…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Matt Taibbi's The Divide

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In his novel, The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap, Matt Taibbi juxtaposes the wealthy and the poor in order to illustrate the disparity between the treatment of high-class criminals and lower-class citizens. The novel also notes the growth of the inequality and the schism between the classes. He uses illuminating narratives from both of the classes to demonstrate the huge difference between the rich and the poor in terms of how they are treated by the American justice system. Taibbi’s book opened my eyes to the extent of this injustice and from that I have learned a great deal, most which I can apply to my position as a Resident Advisor.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novels, Slaughterhouse 5 written by Kurt Vonnegut and What is the what by Dave Eggers, the authors use techniques to help contribute to the development of the readers’ curiosity on how the story might end. As a result, it leaves them a feeling of wanting more of the storyline until the very last page. The novel Slaughterhouse 5 is written by the author, Kurt Vonnegut who experienced and survived the World War II. He expresses his personal feelings regarding the war through the main character, Billy Pilgrim and, simple language, allowing readers to easily understand and experience moments of the past, present, and future with him. Identically, In the novel What is the what by Dave Eggers, the author narrates the challenging life story…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chicago in 1930 was a very dangerous period to be in . Local gangs stage war throughout the city for control of the billion dollar illegal alcohol industry . The main cause of thee violence in the city was Prohibition . Gang wars , gun battles and explosions were a common scene Whenever local liquor stores won 't accept the high-priced low quality liquor being sold by gangsters that store will just be blown into dust Gangs impose their will with the use of their toys , the tommy guns and hand…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Fountainhead takes place in the 1920s-1930s in New York City. It chronicles the struggles of the innovative architect Howard Roark in his effort to achieve success on his own terms.…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Countrywide Financial Case

    • 7884 Words
    • 32 Pages

    the mortgages Countrywide made during the housing boom were overly risky and likely to go into default. Problems…

    • 7884 Words
    • 32 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In essence, the savvy business leader went from rags to riches (Sorkin, 2002). Unfortunately he would pay the cost for his naïveté when he was indicted of “twenty-two counts of larceny conspiracy and securities fraud” which came at time when many white collar crimes were under high scrutiny. Amid that time even Martha Stewart was indicted and sentenced to jail for her white collar crimes (“Tyco CEO Dennis…,” 2011) which make's people wonder if " that’s a good thing " considering that these practices were basic practices in business, and just a few people were sentenced (“Tyco CEO Dennis…”,…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson talks about the villagers of a small town who gather together in the square on June 27 for the town lottery. In other towns the lottery takes longer, but since there aren't a lot of people in this village (300 people) the lottery takes only two hours. Mr. Summers runs the lottery in this town because he has a lot of time. He arrives in the square with the black box. This black box isn’t the original one because since the other one was lost they use this one. Mr. Summers always says that they should make a new box but no one wants to ruin the tradition. Mr. Summers also said that they need to replace the wood chips with slips of paper and they did.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays