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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what morning does the author describe Jamie Dimon awakening after an emergency meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York with a dozen of his rival Wall Street CEOs in the beginning of the Prologue?

2. With all eyes on Lehman after the Bear collapse, Hank Paulson suggested to Dick Fuld that it would be a good idea for Lehman to increase its holdings of what to shore up confidence in the bank?

3. By what name is the regulation that “had been introduced by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1938 to prevent investors from continually shorting a stock that was falling” called?

4. Who is described as Lehman Brothers’ spokesperson in Chapter 6?

5. Who was the Chief of Staff at Goldman Sachs in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. To whom did John Thain turn for help with Merrill Lynch’s situation in Chapter 7? What response did he receive?

2. What was Hank Paulson’s first concern regarding the possibility of failure of Lehman Brothers, according to the author in Chapter 4?

3. How does the author describe Jamie Dimon’s position in the Bear Stearns deal in Chapter 3?

4. What was the result of spreading sub-prime mortgages across the spectrum of the investment world, according to the author in the Prologue?

5. How does Andrew Ross Sorkin explain the underlying cause of the sub-prime mortgage crisis of 2008 in the Prologue of Too Big to Fail?

6. How is Dick Fuld’s career described in Chapter 1? Who did Fuld choose as his right-hand-man at Lehman Brothers?

7. How is Timothy Geithner characterized in Chapter 3? What position did he hold at the Federal Reserve?

8. What information about Lehman Brothers had been leaked to the Wall Street Journal in Chapter 6? Who was suspected of the leak?

9. What suggestion did Hank Paulson make to Dick Fuld regarding Lehman Brothers’ holdings in Chapter 2? How did Fuld respond?

10. Who did Bob Steel contact to discuss the Lehman Brothers problem in Chapter 4? What response did he get?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the impact of the fining of AIG by the federal regulators in 2007. How did this action affect the assets and standing of the company? How did leadership change in the company based on the violations? Why was the company fined?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the testimonies of Timothy Geithner, Bob Steel, Jamie Dimon, and Ben Bernanke before the Senate Banking Committee in 2008. How did the media interpret these testimonies during this time? What was the public response?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the history of Lehman Brothers from its inception in the 1800s to its demise in 2008. What choices were made within the company that can be seen as attributing to its downfall and bankruptcy? How involved was Dick Fuld in making these decisions? Who else was integral in decision making?

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This section contains 973 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample