This cautionary tale explains how the murky and complex world of mortgage finance caused a global market meltdown―and offers new insights on how to create a stronger world of banking and mortgage finance.
Mr. England writes about the financial crisis with harrowing precision.
-- Daniel Henninger, deputy editorial page director, columnist, Wall Street Journal
First Reckless Endangerment and now it is Black Box Casino's turn to shine a bright light on the root causes of the mortgage meltdown. England, relying on decades of experience as a financial reporter and consummate research skills, documents how government housing policy, political expediency, and crony capitalism combined to cause the mortgage meltdown that nearly sank the world’s economy.
-- Ed Pinto, former chief risk officer of Fannie Mae
Drawing upon sources not available to previous writers, England presents the most complete account yet of how the collapse of an obscure subprime mortgage lender in January 2007 could eventually take down some of the greatest names on Wall Street by September 2008, wreaking massive economic destruction that Americans are still struggling with today.
-- Kenneth Cline, managing editor, Banking Strategies Magazine
"This will certainly free up more capacity on the blast furnace side. Steel buyers are desperate for more tons, with some buyers telling us they are on allocation and most buyers not getting the quantity of tons they need from the mills," Samuel McKinney, metals analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, told Fastmarkets on Friday September 4.
"We expect US Steel will be responsible with the furnace ramp and doubt this has an immediate downward impact on pricing given how behind the mills currently are. Rather, it may provide a small bit of supply relief for a buying spectrum that is begging for more tons," McKinney said.
Read more: US Steel restarts Gary Works' largest blast furnace after $350 million reline
With steel reinforcing bar (rebar) producer Hybar’s first mill in Osceola, Arkansas, in operation for only nine months, the company announced last week that it had raised $1.1 billion to build a second rebar expansion mill next to the existing one.
Robert England
1 July 2026
To better understand factors that shaped a decision to double capacity for rebar production even before the first mill on the site had achieved a 100% operational rate, Fastmarkets spoke with David Stickler, Hybar’s chief executive officer, on Tuesday June 30 to learn more about what went into the decision.
Fastmarkets: The latest investment round raised $1.1 billion, which is somewhat higher than the $700 million in total funding for the first Hybar rebar mill. Given the second mill also has the same rated output capacity of 630,000 short tons per year, what is the explanation for higher funding for the second mill?
A shift in electric vehicle (EV) policy in the US is driving a surge in momentum for hybrid vehicles and a slowdown in momentum for full battery electric vehicles, according to Elizabeth Krear, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Automotive Research
By Robert England
21 May 2026
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
Changes in EV policy represent “a near complete reversal in direction,” Krear said in a keynote speech at the Great Designs in Steel Symposium held on Wednesday May 20 in Novi, Michigan.
“Hybrids now represent 14.5% of US market share while full battery electric vehicles have declined to 5.1% after peaking at 7.8% in 2024,” Krear said.
“Today electrified vehicles in the US account for 20% market share — and by electrified I mean hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full battery electric vehicles,” the keynote speaker said. Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles hold “the remaining 80% of the market share,” she added.
It is unclear how the shift away from full battery electric vehicles will affect overall demand for automotive steel, which surged in the second and third quarters last year as buyers rushed to purchase new cars before tariffs were reflected in prices. That activity drove total US 2025 sales volume to about 16 million light vehicles, Krear said.
Read more: US EV policy pivot boosts hybrids, lowers full battery EV share: Krear
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
By Robert England
March 30, 2026
US steelmakers faced a “robust opportunity” in the data center construction boom, driven by rapid implementation of artificial intelligence programs, according to Barry Zekelamn, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Zekelman Industries.
The industry’s expansion was “definitely driving up steel demand and will continue to do so,” Zekelman told Fastmarkets in the week to Monday March 30.
The US is by far the world’s dominant and pre-eminent participant in the data center industry, giving American producers of steel and steel parts a front-line position in the supply chain.
The steel needed for the data center construction boom “is pretty massive -- it’s all over the place,” Zekelman said.
“It’s not only hollow structural steel and beams, it’s all different types of steel and other materials,” he said.
“There’s all of the lead-up that goes into the building, which [includes] conduit and electrical sourcing for that, whether it’s solar or gas lines or your generation stations that are powering it,” he added.
Read more: US steelmakers face 'robust opportunity' in data center expansion, Zekelman says
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
By Robert England
27 Jan 2026
The fate of Steel Dynamics Inc’s (SDI) efforts to renew its bid to acquire North Star BlueScope rests on its ability to garner engagement with BlueScope’s board in Australia and win over its shareholders, according to Phil Gibbs, metals equity analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
“Eventually shareholders are going to have to weigh in even though the management team said the deal is not credible because it undervalues the company,” Gibbs told Fastmarkets on Monday January 26.
The all-cash $8.8 billion joint bid with Australia’s industrial conglomerate SGH Limited on December 12 sought to acquire 100% of all shares of BlueScope Steel, Australia’s largest steelmaker, with a subsequent on-sale of its US assets, including North Star BlueScope in Delta, Ohio.
Read more: Fate of SDI's renewed bid for BlueScope requires further engagement: analyst
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
By Robert England
January 7, 2026
US automakers' reset of their strategies for electric vehicles (EVs) is likely to impact overall US automotive production trends in 2026, according to auto and steel sector analysts.
The end of EV mandates and subsidies, combined with a reduction in federal average corporate fuel standards, provides a boost for sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as consumer preferences guide trends, slowing the adoption rate for EVs and speeding up adoption rates for hybrids, analysts said.
Overall US-based auto production volumes next year could shift by up to 1% in either direction, analysts told Fastmarkets, reflecting differing assessments of how effective reset strategies are, and how quickly and smoothly automakers can implement those strategies.
The resulting shifts in US automotive production will, in turn, drive demand for US-produced steel, especially for cold-rolled and galvanized steel sheet, as well as special bar quality and cold-heading quality steel rods.
Investor mogul Wilbur L. Ross, who served as US Secretary of Commerce in President Trump’s first term, discussed the potential impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in a case brought against tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) during an exclusive interview with Fastmarkets on Tuesday November 11.
By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
November 13, 2025
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on November 5 in the cases brought by several small businesses led by Learning Resources, Inc. and twelve states co-led by Arizona and Oregon. Lower courts ruled the tariffs exceeded the President’s authority under IEEPA, staying their rulings pending an appeal.
The IEEPA tariffs were imposed by the Trump Administration earlier this year against Canada, Mexico and China over fentanyl flowing into the US. Further, Trump invoked IEEPA when he imposed “reciprocal” tariffs on trading partners to address trade deficits and trading policies the President deemed unfair.
Some of the reciprocal tariffs have been reduced subsequently after countries and trading blocks, such as the European Union, reached new bilateral trade agreements with the US.
Read more: Supreme Court likely to deliver split decision on tariffs: Wilbur Ross
Boston Metal’s innovative carbon-free molten-oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology, which can produce iron from iron ore and selected metals from metal oxides, is racking up deployment milestones and breakthroughs in advancing the longevity and durability of its anodes, according to Adam Rauwerdink, senior vice president of business development.
By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
September 12, 2025
The latest milestone was achieved on Tuesday September 9, when stainless steelmaker Outokumpu announced a joint agreement with Boston Metal to provide chromium oxide and chromium feedstock from its Kemi mine in northern Finland, giving Boston Metal a potential significant source of chrome it needs to manufacture its inert anodes.
The joint agreement, inked in a memorandum of understanding with Outokumpu, is part of the Woburn, Massachusetts-based company’s long-term strategy for establishing earnings potential for anode technology, Rauwerdink told Fastmarkets in an interview.
Read more: Boston Metal scores breakthroughs in carbon-free metals production: exec
The automotive industry's embrace of the pioneering steelmaking technology of tailored welded blanks to make hot stamped door rings has reached a break-out point with annual output volumes expected to double over the next five years
June 26, 2025
By Robert England
Fastmarkets Metals and Mining
The door ring is a key structural part in the vehicle body-in-white that encircles each set of side doors. It plays a critical role in protecting the passengers and battery during a crash.
ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks Americas’ (AMTB) tailored blanks method for making door rings allows for material optimization, weight reduction, cost efficiency and manufacturing simplicity while reducing the carbon dioxide equivalent footprint of the car, according to Gagan Tandon, chief product officer.
In 2024, AMTB produced over 4 million door rings for six automotive brands in North America,
Based on projects in the pipeline, AMTB expects that by 2030 annual production for North America has the potential to grow to over 10 million door rings applied to over 19 brands
The success of this technology will also reaffirm steel’s role as the dominant material used to make cars, the chief product officer said.
Read more: ArcelorMittal’s tailored blanks transform automaking
A US-China trade agreement to sharply lower reciprocal tariffs for 90 days that emerged on Monday May 12 boosts the outlook for trade and the economy, according to analysts and market observers.
Robert England
12 May 2025
Fastmarkets Metal and Mining
Under the bilateral agreement, crafted over the weekend of May 10-11 in Geneva, Switzerland, in high-level discussions, tariffs for US goods going into China will fall from 125% to 10% while duties for Chinese goods going into the US will drop from 145% to 30%, according to The White House.
The impact on metals and minerals may be muted, given the various sectoral tariffs in place or under investigation.
Sectoral 25% tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminium remain intact.
Investigations into semiconductors, copper, critical minerals, timber, lumber and trucks remain to be completed.
Economic analysts expect the 90-day deal to push up economic growth in the US and China over prior forecasts.
Read more: US-China lower tariffs deal brightens trade, economic outlook: sources
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Robert Stowe England is an author and financial journalist who has specialized in writing about financial institutions, financial markets, retirement income issues, and the financial impact of population aging.