Corzine Forgot Lessons of Long-Term Capital: Roger Lowenstein

``MF Global was leveraged 30 to 1, shades of LTCM. And of MF Global's roughly $40 billion in assets, more than $6 billion were in volatile European sovereign debts. Corzine was the author of the firm's strategy of risking its own capital. He wanted a firm like Meriwether's, and he got one. Corzine also approved the strategy of loading up on European debt. According to the Wall Street Journal, he told a company executive that "Europe wouldn't let these countries go down." Just as, 13 years ago, traders believed that Russia wouldn't default. ''