2000s

Editor's note

Financial crisis

On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, a prominent US investment bank founded in 1850, declares bankruptcy. As a result, stock markets worldwide collapse, and financial institutions report billions of dollars in losses. The 2008 subprime mortgage crisis results from widespread, high-risk mortgage and lending/borrowing practices and is considered the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. The crisis lasts for 19 months and culminates in a global recession with low earnings and high unemployment rates, particularly among the young population.