Collision Course

1999: The dotcom bubble, fueled by 'irrational exuberance,' bursts, spelling doom for many high-flying tech companies.

2000: Greenspan persuades U.S. legislators to strip the federal oversight agency of the power to regulate the growing market for derivatives.

2001: Countrywide begins its race to the top of the mortgage-lending market by designing new securities under looser guidelines. Its revenues start to soar.

2003: Responding to a recession brought on by the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Greenspan lowers short-term interest rates to 1 percent, a 50-year low.

2007:Brady Dougan becomes the first derivatives trader to reach the top spot of a major bank. When he became CEO of Credit Suisse, the company made eight trades about every four seconds.

© 2008