Firms borrow to load up on CDOs and real estate. Lehman Brothers was leveraged more than 30 to 1. AIG sells credit-default swaps (CDSs), derivatives designed to protect investors from failures.
Great Depression 2.0: Tracing the Meltdown
The housing bubble burst. Wall Street collapsed. Now the aftershocks are radiating throughout Main Street. TIME explores how this initially insular financial crisis went national.
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