On The Turning Away

In honor of the historical week that has changed the landscape on Wall Street, here’s a recap (courtesy of Reuters).

Friday September 12 – NY Fed president Timothy Geithner convenes an emergency meeting with Treasury Department officials and top executives at all the major Wall Street banks over Lehman rescue.

Saturday September 13 – While discussions over Lehman continue at the NY Fed’s Lower Manhattan building, AIG begins talks to regulators over its survival.

Sunday September 14 – Lehman finds no buyer but a group of 10 global banks and securities firms form a $70 billion loan program to help ease a credit shortage.

Monday September 15 – Earlier morning, 158-year-old Lehman files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. DJIA falls more than 500 points.

Tuesday September 16 – While Barclays agrees to pay $1.75 billion for some of Lehman’s prime assets, including its Manhattan HQ and North American investment banking and capital markets businesses, after market closed AIG is taken over by the federal government with an $85 billion 2-year bridge loan in exchange for a 79.9 percent government stake in the company.

Wednesday September 17 – The U.S. stock market plummets, with shares of the remaining two investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley dropping 14 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

Thursday September 18 – UK’s FSA bans short-selling on a number of financial stocks for four months. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson shops around a plan to Congress that would create an entity similar to the Resolution Trust Corporation,created in 1989 after the savings and loan crisis.

Friday Septmber 19 – SEC issues an emergency order temporarily banning short-selling in shares of about 799 financial institutions. The measure is set to end on Oct. 2, but can be extended by another 10 days; Market watchdogs in France, Portugal and Ireland take similar steps to crack down on short-selling.