A special thanks to Wikipedia.org for following historical information. The sermons I have chosen from Sermonaudio.com
- 1756 – Seven Years' War formally begins when Great Britain declares war on France
Recommended sermons and podcasts: The Colonial Wars of America and Providential Significance, by Historian Bill Potter
- 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.
Recommended reading: 'Big Short'; Investor Michael Burry Dumps Stock Portfolio After Market Crash Warnings - nypost.com
Michael Burry saw the financial meltdown of 2008 coming. The book The Big Short tells the story. The following quotes are from The Big Short, which told the story of the financial meltdown in 2008 and who profited from it:
“Being short in 2007 and making money from it was fun, because we were short bad guys. In 2008 it was the entire financial system that was at risk. We were still short, but you don’t want the system to crash. It's sort of like the flood’s about to happen, and you’re Noah. You’re on the ark, ya, you’re okay, but you’re not happy looking out at the flood. That’s not a happy moment for Noah.”
Second quote:
“In early October 2008 after the U.S. government had stepped in to say it would...absorb all the losses in the financial system and prevent any big Wall Street firm from failing.”
Third quote:
“Maybe the best definition of investing is gambling with the odds in your favor. The people on the short side of the subprime mortgage market had gambled with the odds in their favor. The people on the other side – the entire financial system, essentially – had gambled with the odds against them. What’s strange and complicated about it is that pretty much all the important people on both sides left the table rich.”
And the last quote:
“The world’s most highly paid financiers had been totally discredited; without government intervention, every single one of them would have lost his job. And yet those same financiers were using the government to enrich themselves. I can understand why Goldman Sachs would want to be included in the conversation about what to do about Wall Street. What I can’t understand is why anyone would listen to them”