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Thursday, October 20, 2011

The men who crashed the world


The first of a four-part investigation into a world of greed and recklessness that led to financial collapse.
Last Modified: 20 Oct 2011 11:34



In the first episode of Meltdown, we hear about four men who brought down the global economy: a billionaire mortgage-seller who fooled millions; a high-rolling banker with a fatal weakness; a ferocious Wall Street predator; and the power behind the throne.
The crash of September 2008 brought the largest bankruptcies in world history, pushing more than 30 million people into unemployment and bringing many countries to the edge of insolvency. Wall Street turned back the clock to 1929.

In depth coverage of US financial crisis protests
But how did it all go so wrong?
Lack of government regulation; easy lending in the US housing market meant anyone could qualify for a home loan with no government regulations in place.
Also, London was competing with New York as the banking capital of the world. Gordon Brown, the British finance minister at the time, introduced 'light touch regulation' - giving bankers a free hand in the marketplace.
All this, and with key players making the wrong financial decisions, saw the world's biggest financial collapse.

Meltdown is a four-part investigation that takes a closer look at the people who brought down the financial world.
Click here for more Meltdown.




Meltdown examines how an epidemic of fear caused banks to stop lending,
triggered protests and led to industrial action.
Meltdown Last Modified: 20 Oct 2011 11:37 GMT
As the toll of the financial crisis continues to mount, many are looking for
its true causes - and finding a crime.
Meltdown Last Modified: 20 Oct 2011 11:40 GMT
Some responded with denial, others by re-thinking capitalism, but who is preparing for the next crisis?
Meltdown Last Modified: 20 Oct 2011 11:42 GMT