Today in 2001, everything was falling apart at Enron. Andy Fastow had been fired two days previous amid allegations of theft and fraud. Stock was diving; at the beginning of the week – October 19 – the stock price was $26.05. By October 26, the price had fallen 40%, to $15.40.
Dr. Lay was starting to get nervous. He called Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, to keep him apprised of Enron’s diminishing condition, and to feel out the possibility of a bailout. After his conversation, he met with Dynegy chairman Charles Watson.
The end was near. You could feel it. A giant tectonic plate of the company was shifting, though, because the employees of Enron were optimistic Alpha types, they still believed they had a chance. They would continue to expend frenetic energy from this day to the collapse, fighting this huge invisible force that was dragging them down.
