#2008 financial crisis

2 articles tagged with this topic

◈ Explanation📖 StandardFoundationsPersonal Finance › Real Estate & Housing

Mortgage-Backed Securities — What They Are and How They Blew Up in 2008

Mortgage-backed securities turned home loans into tradeable bonds. They financed the greatest housing boom in U.S. history — and then the greatest crash. Here's how they work and what went wrong.

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◈ Explanation📖 StandardFoundationsPersonal Finance › Debt & Credit

Credit Default Swaps — The Instrument That Almost Broke the World

AIG sold $500 billion in credit default swaps without posting collateral. When the housing market collapsed, it nearly took the global financial system with it. Here's how CDS work and what they're used for today.

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