June 11, 2007 -- it was just a quiet Tuesday afternoon when news crossed that forever changed the landscape of Wall Street
On that day word came that a hedge fund collapsed at Bear Stearns; one that had binged on risky mortgage bets. The news sent the Dow -- then flirting with 14,000 - down about 200 points.
But nobody seemed terribly bothered and the blue chip index made up its losses the very next day. Shares of Bear Stearns were still trading in the $140s.
And like nothing had happened, the market continued back on course towards a record high.
Turns out the collapse of this $6 billion dollar fund was the canary in the coal mine – a warning that we were headed for a global financial crisis that would forever change the world.
The collapse that followed is almost unfathomable:
- $11 trillion of wealth wiped from the U.S. stock market
- The shuttering of legendary Wall Street firms Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers
- 1400 hedge funds closed up shop
Fast forward two years from this seminal event, and where are we today?
Optimism has returned to the financial markets. Hobbled banks are paying back billions in taxpayer TARP money. And we may be marking day 90 of a new bull market.
So as fear ebbs and the optimism flows; shell-shocked traders are asking, is the storm finally over or will we self implode again?
I think the bottom was in March, counsels Karen Finerman. And it’s important to keep in mind that there’s a lot of hedge fund money and retail money on the sidelines, she adds.
But when does that money go to work -- that's the trillion dollar question. We'll be watching.
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Trader disclosure: On June 11th, 2009, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Adami Owns (AGU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (BTU), (MSFT), (NUE); Macke Owns (BAC), (AGU), (USO), (SDS); Finerman Owns (RIG), (TBT); Finerman's Firm Own (NOK), (PBR), (RIG), (TBT); Finerman's Firm Is Short (BAC); Finerman's Firm Owns (BAC) Preferred; Finerman Owns (BAC) Preferred; FInerman's Firm Owns (WFC) Preferred; Finerman Owns (WFC) Preferred; Terranova Owns (TER), (SDS), (XBI), (ABT), (RIMM), (GENZ); Terranova Is Short (RIG), (OIH), (FCX); Terranova Is Short (XOM) Call Spread; Terranova Owns (BRCM) & (BRCM) Calls; Terranova Owns (MS) & (MS) Calls; Terranova Owns (HES) & (HES) Calls; Terranova Owns (DIS) Call Spread; Terranova Owns (X) & (X) Calls; Terranova Owns (JPM) & (JPM) Calls; Terranova Owns (POT) & (POT) Calls; Terranova Owns (IBM) & (IBM) Calls
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