One Year After the Financial Crash

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This week marks the one-year anniversary of one of the most dramatic weeks in Wall Street’s history. On September 14th, 2008 Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America. Then Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and hurtled towards liquidation. On the 15th, the Dow plunged 504 points. On the 16th, insurance giant AIG suffered a liquidity crisis, and the Federal Reserve handed out an $85 billion bailout that gave the government economic control of AIG. On the 19th, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson unveiled a bailout plan for US banks. On the 20th, the Bush Administration requested unfettered authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in distressed mortgage-related assets from private firms.

Here we are one-year later… In this podcast we look back at the changes, and lack-of-change, on Wall Street. Also, a visit to California where the sub-prime mortgage mess caught on like one of that state’s wildfires. And what about China during the recession? China’s state-run banks have been battling the global crisis by churning out loans as fast as they can. The crisis hit while China’s economy was in a time of transition, from a state-run economy to a market economy. How have those changes been impacted by the recession?

• Latest BBC Coverage
• The BBC’s Aftershock Series
• Audio Slideshow: Lehman’s Last Day
• Global recession timeline
• Best of the BBC: The Day that Lehman Died