The US Engineers Sale of WaMu to JPMorgan - Essay Example

Federal banking regulators seized the Washington Mutual Bank in an effort to head off a total collapse of the financial institution and prevent draining of the $45 billion Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. To keep the bank in business and assure depositors of the solvency of their accounts, the government made a last-minute deal for the bank to be sold to JP Morgan. Falling real estate values and risky sub-prime loans were cited as the reason for the failure. It is the biggest bank failure in US history, and it has created the largest bank by deposits and further consolidates the banking industry.

The Federal Reserve warned of the excessive failure rates of these loans in the early 2000s. To compound the problem, interest rates were allowed to rise beginning in June 2003, which made real estate less attractive and caused housing prices to tumble.China Launches Spacewalk MissionFurther expanding the Chinese determination to become a world power in space, they have launched a Shenzhou VII spacecraft with three astronauts aboard to take a 30-minute spacewalk. The spacewalk is a maneuver that will eventually allow them to build a space station, and they have plans to take a manned mission to the Moon.

In addition to elevating nationalistic pride and raising their international prestige, the Chinese space program hopes to benefit their research and development in electronics and computers. I hope that the space program is pursued with more care and quality control than they have exhibited in other areas.