Transcript of September 'Money Summit: Money & Main St.'

Posted by: Lily Mei

(CNN) -- Anderson Cooper, Ali Velshi and the CNN Money Team hosted a special "CNN Money Summit: Money & Main St." Thursday night, September 17. Here's a transcript of the show:

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Two topics in the hour ahead: the economy and you.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: It's been one year since Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy putting into motion a series of events that plowed the American economy deeper into recession and cost you money.

VELSHI: Everyone felt the effects as the crisis rippled through the job, housing and stock markets.

COOPER: In the hour ahead, we're going to figure out what happened over the past year and point you in the right direction for the year and years ahead. Our panel of experts will give you the tools you need to profit and even prosper.

Tonight on this CNN MONEY SUMMIT: MONEY AND MAIN STREET.

A year after the fall of Lehman Brothers there's good news and bad from the guys who crunch the economic numbers.

First the good, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said earlier this week the recession is very likely over. The bad news, not all economists agree with him nor do most Americans.

New polling we did for this program shows 86 percent of the country still feels we are in a recession. And more than three quarters of all Americans say it's a pretty bad one.

But it's not all doom and gloom. There is good news, things are improving in some areas very quickly.

We're going to be discussing this tonight with our panel: Fortune magazine senior editor Leigh Gallagher; an economist and author, Stephen Leeb; Christine Romans, host of CNN's "Your Money;" also Money magazine senior writers Walter Updegrave and Donna Rosato; and Ryan Mack, president of Optimum Capital -- Ali.

VELSHI: Anderson, thanks.

But first, how did we get here? One year ago this week, America's subprime crisis became a global financial crisis. What had been a downturn fueled by falling home prices and mortgage defaults became in a matter of days something much bigger.

For more information please click here