A Timeline of the Financial Crisis

Some say that we are on the way out of this recession and financial crisis. But are we? When and where did it all begin?
It was in February of 2007 that the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation decided they would no longer buy the most risky supreme mortgages and mortgage-related securities. This was the start to what was a downward spiral in the housing market and our economy. People no longer could pay for their homes and real estate was hard to sell. Then in April, the New Century Financial Corporation, a leading subprime mortgage lender, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chapter 11 was a way for companies to restructure their business model and pay investors over time.
Skipping ahead, more mortgage companies went under and filed for bankruptcy. In 2008, banks were being hit hard and were being taken over by other banks. This included JPMorgan taking over Chase, and Bank of America taking over Countrywide Financial.
The Fed stepped in many times to try to stimulate the economy throughout these last 3 years. They met again a few days ago again to hash out more problems. Are we on an upturn now? That’s for each one of us to decide.

By: Kelsey Hoffman

Sources:
http://timeline.stlouisfed.org/index.cfm?p=timeline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_crisis_impact_timeline
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/timeline-financial-crisis/