The World's Best Book Summaries
What events led up to the 2008 bank bailout? Did Wall Street deserve to be bailed out? What was the true bank-bailout cost? Who paid it? We’ll cover the events leading up to the 2008 bank bailout (also known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act) and how it hurt the American taxpayer.
Maybe you’ve heard of mortgage-backed securities in relation to the 2008 financial crisis. But what are mortgage-backed securities? How do they differ from other investments? A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is essentially a bond, or debt instrument, that’s comprised of a bundle of home mortgages (often running into the thousands) that have been packaged together into a tradable asset. Learn the history of mortgage-backed securities and how they infiltrated Wall Street, becoming one of the main contributors to the 2008 financial crisis.
By 2050, 14 million people will have Alzheimer’s, which is a leading cause of death in the U.S. Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, develops when the protein beta-amyloid forms plaque in the brain. Is there an “Alzheimer’s diet” that could keep you from being one of those 14 million people? Although there’s no definitive cause of Alzheimer’s, researchers agree that lifestyle factors such as diet play a role. Learn how adopting an Alzheimer’s prevention diet can help protect your brain and get suggestions on how you can smoothly incorporate more plant foods into your diet.
Who is Ben Hockett? How was he involved in the “big short” that profited from the 2008 financial crisis? Ben Hockett is a former Deutsche Bank trader who left Wall Street behind to trade derivatives from his home in Berkeley Hills. In 2006 he worked with investment company Cornwall Capital to short the housing market and profit from the 2007-2008 subprime mortgage crisis. In the movie The Big Short, Brad Pitt’s character Ben Rickert is based on Ben Hockett. We’ll cover Ben Hockett’s background, his major role in getting Cornwall Capital the recognition it needed to be a player on
What is specialty finance? What does it offer, and how is it risky? Did specialty finance loans contribute to the 2008 financial crisis? Specialty finance is the euphemistic name of financial industries that provide financial products and services to the least-creditworthy Americans, people who wouldn’t be able to get a loan from a traditional bank. Learn how the industry of specialty finance became lucrative and how its preying on uncreditworthy Americans contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
What are the 3 stages of cancer development? Is there anything we can do to slow or reverse the progress of cancer in its early stages? The three stages of cancer development are initiation, promotion, and progression. We’ll cover what happens in each of the stages of cancer development and how cutting animal proteins from your diet may be the key to reducing your cancer risk at each of the first two stages.
What is a tranche in finance? How did they change the mortgage-backed securities market and make subprime loans desirable to investors? A tranche is a slice or portion of a security sold to investors. Learn how tranches work in finance, what their role in mortgage-backed securities is, and how they revolutionized these securities so quickly and dramatically that they laid the groundwork for the 2008 financial crisis.
What is the link between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and breast cancer? Is there a link between menopause and breast cancer? One out of eight American women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Although menopause itself isn’t a risk factor for breast cancer, how you treat symptoms of menopause could increase your risk. We’ll cover the link between HRT and breast cancer and alternative options for easing your transition into menopause.
What is a holistic diet? How can it make you healthier while also helping the planet? A holistic diet is a way of eating that focuses on whole, unrefined food in its natural state. Learn the 7 principles of the holistic diet and discover why it leads to better health.
Who is Steve Eisman, of The Big Short fame? What is his background in finance, and how did he profit from the 2008 financial crisis? Steve Eisman is an investor best known for having shorted the housing market and profiting from the 2007-2008 financial crisis. In the film The Big Short, Steve Carell’s character Mark Baum was based on Steve Eisman. We’ll cover Steve Eisman’s background, his brash personality, and how he shorted the housing market.