What Cooked the World's Economy?

Village Voice by James Lieber | Jan. 28, 2009 (Special Report)

It wasn't your overdue mortgage.

It's 2009. You're laid off, furloughed, foreclosed on, or you know someone who is. You wonder where you'll fit into the grim new semi-socialistic post-post-industrial economy colloquially known as "this mess."

You're astonished and possibly ashamed that mutant financial instruments dreamed up in your great country have spawned worldwide misery. You can't comprehend, much less trim, the amount of bailout money parachuting into the laps of ... Full Story »

Posted by Doug Greer

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5.0

by Doug Greer - Feb. 10, 2009

This article puts the world-wide financial crisis into context. Frightening numbers are given to show the severity of the prognosis for the US Economy. The CDO problem is at "almost $600 trillion, [the derivatives] dwarf the value of publicly traded equities on world exchanges, which totaled $62.5 trillion in the fall of 2007 and fell to $36.6 trillion a year later."

The full extent of the $600 trillion dollar problem needs to be confronted and the media needs to discuss the true causes and culprits.

This was the beginning of the heyday of hedge funds. Unregulated investment houses were originally based on the questionable but legal practice of short-selling—selling a ... More »

Doug posted this story.

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4.3

by D Dean - Feb. 28, 2009

Yes. This article was insightful and very instructive.

I am fascinated by the world of finance. When I read other pieces on this topic, the terminology and strategies will be clearer because of this comprehensive treatment.

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