Mortgage Crisis
Bradford and Bingley: British government nationalises second failing bank
By Jean Shaoul, October 2, 2008
The chancellor of the exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced minutes before the London Stock Market opened on Monday that the government would take over the Bradford and Bingley (B&B). The B&B is Brit...
Australia: Shares crash amid warnings of prolonged recession
By Mike Head, October 1, 2008
Tens of billions of dollars were lost on the Australian share market on Monday and Tuesday, both before and after the congressional defeat of the US Wall Street bailout plan.
Record corporate bailout reveals the bankruptcy of American capitalism
By Barry Grey, September 10, 2008
The US government takeover of the mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has dealt a shattering blow to the ideology of market capitalism, which has been used for decades to justify a rele...
US government takes over mortgage giants to stave off financial meltdown
By Bill Van Auken, September 8, 2008
In the biggest government intervention in the American economy since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the US Treasury Department announced Sunday that it is effectively nationalizing the two mortgag...
The origins of the subprime market
By Cesar Uco, August 8, 2008
In the early 1990s, an analyst approached the head of the currency options desk of a large investment bank and offered an explanation of events by looking into how they originated. The manager answere...
Letters from our readers
July 19, 2008
The following is a selection of recent letters sent to the World Socialist Web Site
GM continues job slashing in effort to stave off bankruptcy
By Jerry White, July 16, 2008
In what it termed a move to “bolster liquidity to protect against a prolonged US downturn,” General Motors announced plans Tuesday to slash jobs, wages and benefits of its salaried workfor...
Australia’s “two-track” economy: super-profits and falling living standards
By Mike Head, July 16, 2008
Amid an ongoing share market decline produced by the US and global financial turmoil, economic indicators in Australia have revealed an acute divergence in what media commentators are increasingly des...
Bernanke, Paulson testify before Congress: Democrats cower before Wall Street
By Andre Damon, July 12, 2008
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke called on Congress Thursday to expand the Fed’s ability to bail out failing Wall Street firms. Their testimony, d...
Bernanke, Paulson outline strategy to make working class pay for Wall Street crisis
By Andre Damon and Barry Grey, July 10, 2008
In speeches delivered Tuesday, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson outlined the ruthless class policy being carried out to place the burden for the financi...
Denmark officially in recession: Europe to follow
By Jordan Shilton, July 9, 2008
On July 1, figures released by Statistics Denmark confirmed that Denmark has become the first European economy to enter recession following the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market last year a...
Job losses mount as US economy heads into virtual freefall
By Jerry White, July 3, 2008
Job losses in the US are mounting as inflation, the credit crunch, plunging home values and tighter family budgets are combining to produce a perfect storm of economic malaise, which is threatening th...
