In every crisis therein lies opportunity. The Financial Crisis of 2007-2009, as it is defined by Wikipedia has yielded many, many losers including Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and Countrywide Financial. As these giants crumble, with jobs and fortunes lost, somewhere people will benefit from these events.
Canadian bank, Bank of Montreal scooped up the Canadian life insurance assets of American International Group (AIG) for about $305 million USD. "Here you've got a bank that is selling an 8.5 percent dividend yield, reflecting concern about its outlook, concern about its capital, and yet it can go ahead and buy something for C$375 million cash." said one analyst. Whether BMO will benefit from this transaction long term remains to be seen, but one could argue that BMO is making a opportunistic acquisition at a good price.
There are several other examples of companies and individuals setting themselves up to profit from some aspect of the financial crisis, and there will be many more to come.
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