Consumers who got big mortgages with little documentation begin to default. Lenders like Washington Mutual and Countrywide Financial see their stock prices sink. Fiscal comeuppance rears its ugly head.
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.
The Mortgage Collapse