# data[].attributes.body
Welcome! in this post I will be explaining what a financial crisis is and its history. I will give examples as well on how to improve finances and prevent the financial crisis from happening in the first place.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Financial crisis explained (1/4): how did it happen? 

# data[].attributes.body
This video explains how financial crises happened in 2008 in the US. It also goes into detail about how lending and debts were on the rise. They explain how the lack of education, and credit cards, and how banks made very bad financial decisions that caused a strain on people and businesses. These issues that were happening were both causing financial issues in consumers' private lives and in the economic world.

I chose this video because it provided a short summary of why the financial crisis happened in 2008. I also liked how they used different people's ideas and views about the financial crises. It is also easy to understand because of how the video uses storytelling to get each person's ideas. This way every type of person can understand the information that is being explained in the video through different lenses and opinions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Financial crisis explained (1/4): how did it happen?

# data[].attributes.body
This video explains how during the financial crisis in 2008 there were people who lost and gained money. They also explained how the people who caused this loss of money were those who gained an incredible amount of money. This shows that in any financial issue situation even in our society there is always a winner and a loser. The winner is those who are asset owners and the loser are those that borrow money and who don't invest well.

The reason I chose this video was that it shows how a financial crisis is an issue that should be avoided. It also shows a clear explanation of how people can easily fall into a financial crisis. This helps me understand how to prevent it from happening in the future. This video is a continuation of the first video which helps me further understand the financial crisis topic being explained in detail.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Financial crisis explained (2/4): who benefited from the crisis?

# data[].attributes.body
This video explains the risks in the financial economic market. These risks include high rate cuts and high bond-buying which can cause a new financial crisis like in 2008. It also explains how there is a lot of debt in the economy. In the video, they give examples of these high-risk debts like corporate debt and student loans. It is said that student debt is bigger than credit card debt amount in the current economy.

I chose this video because in this video there are multiple examples of high-risk debts that can be avoided. Also, I found it beneficial when they explained that student debt is the highest risk factor in a financial crisis. This was a wake-up call for me. I have considered getting a student debt loan before. But now, hearing that it is a huge financial risk I will avoid it as much as possible.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Financial crisis explained (3/4): what is the subprime of our decade?

# data[].attributes.body
In this video, they explain how there are lessons that can be learned from the 2008 financial crisis. These include a financial system that supports the real economy. They also explain that there are now changes that the economy has made to prevent a financial crisis in the future. One example is how American and European banks now hold more equity/capital for loan books. Their financing is also more long-term. This has made the banks more stable.

I chose this video because it helps me understand and come up with an overall conclusion about what a financial crisis is and also everything involved with it. This video is also very easy to understand because of the video editing involved.  Editing such as the text that pops up with each question being answered. Also, I loved how they used pictures and charts to get across each person's ideas.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Financial crisis explained (4/4): the most important lessons learned

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Financial Crisis 2 paragraphs *100 words

# data[].attributes.body
This website talks about what a financial crisis is and examples of some. They explain how a financial crisis can be any situation where a lot of financial assets, which can be more than one, lose a large amount of their initial value. Some types of assets that this can happen to are assets such as stocks, real estate, and oil. Some financial crisis examples explained were problems with the housing market crashing and bank runs. They also explain how a financial crisis happens and predicts when the next one might happen.
The reason I chose this website was that it was a short easy-to-read article with a lot of very good information. It was smaller in length to read but the information in it was very detailed. I also liked that they gave lots of examples for each item being explained.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A financial crisis is defined as any situation where one or more significant financial asset - such as stocks, real estate, or oil - suddenly

# data[].attributes.body
This website explains the history behind different financial crises throughout the years. It also goes into detail about the frauds that were involved that caused issues in the economy. It states the names of the people that contributed to the history of the different financial crisis issues. It shows and explains the dates of these economic crashes and how different countries had to deal with them. This website also explains some of the histories behind Volkswagen and Porsche.

I chose this website because I really enjoy its storytelling format. I also really enjoy history and find it intriguing. I think this website really helps relay the reality of how it was during the time of the financial crisis in different countries. Also, this information is beneficial to society so that others do not repeat the same mistakes and helps others be aware of how important it is to find ways to reduce financial risks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Historic crises are consummate teachers, and this is particularly true in the finance industry, in which failures are all too often duplicated with often devastating consequences. International Banker has compiled a series of articles focused on several of the most impactful financial calamities, frauds and scandals of the 20 th and 21 st centuries, most of them originating in the United States but often spreading to the rest of the world; some were intentionally committed, while others resulted from unfortunate circumstances. As we read these accounts, it is easy to reassure ourselves that they could never happen again. But could they? It's human nature to repeat the same mistakes, so learning what these errors and their results were can protect us from potentially catastrophic reoccurrences. And tumultuous past events explain much of what exists in the financial industry today, especially the regulatory components. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed, "We are not makers of history. We are made by history."

We begin our series by investigating the , also known as the Knickerbocker Crisis. A failure in depositor confidence in the Knickerbocker Trust Company, one of the United States' largest trust companies, in October of that year accompanied by a pervading disintegration of investor trust had the domino effect of triggering a series of bank runs that ravaged several banks and trusts as desperate depositors withdrew their funds en masse. The turmoil only exacerbated a sharp dive on the New York Stock Exchange, which by November had lost nearly 50 percent of its value compared to the previous year, adding fuel to an already oppressive recession. Concerted efforts on the part of eminent bankers such as J. P. Morgan stemmed the disaster. In response to the perceived need for a central bank to address these threats to the nation's financial stability, the U.S. Federal Reserve System (the Fed) was born in 1913.

In 1920, as the country was recovering from the devastation of World War I, an Italian immigrant, , was honing a fraud scheme that would eventually bear his name. After promising investors spectacular returns from his practice of buying discounted IRCs (international reply coupons issued by the United States Postal Service) in foreign countries then selling them for higher prices in the United States, he instead used some of the funds of new investors to cover the redemptions of existing ones, then kept the balance for himself rather than buying more IRCs. Ponzi garnered millions in a short space of time, but soon keen eyes detected that his business was too good to be true. After regulators scrutinized his practices, he was charged, imprisoned and deported. However, the scam named after him lives on today.

Although the stock-market collapse, bank runs and recession of the early 1900s were trying, they were outmatched by what occurred in October 1929. The stock market crash of 1929 officially began on October 24; three years later, the Dow had slumped to 41.22, 89 percent below its peak. Many factors contributed to the financial upheaval, such as the speculative practice of buying equity on margin, overproduction leading to supply gluts and the Fed's tight monetary policy. And the consequences of the crash were equally plentiful, including crippling financial losses, ruined lives and, finally, the Great Depression.

The first Black Monday occurred on October 28, 1929, when the Dow fell by a whopping 12.82 percent, setting a new record. But it wasn't the last one. October 19, 1987, is also infamously known as ; this time, the Dow dropped 22.6 percent, the largest single-day fall in stock-market history up to that point. Unlike other market routs, the specific causes of the 1987 slump are still under discussion but include an expected hike in interest rates, the popularity of digital trading and the impact of widespread media coverage of the unfolding disaster. Fortunately, the long-term outcome of the 1987 crash was much milder than that of its 1929 predecessor.

A couple of years later, a different type of financial scourge pummeled the United States, the savings and loan crisis of 1989 . The savings and loan model, wherein depositors' monies funded the home mortgages of low-income borrowers at rates less than the prevailing average through popular thrifts, worked well for Americans for a century and a half after its beginnings in the early 1800s-at least until the rising inflation and interest rates of the 1970s and 1980s cut into S&Ls' profits, causing many to become effectively bankrupt. A few even resorted to criminal avenues to shore up returns, investing depositors' funds in shady real-estate deals. The once-promising S&L industry suffered its demise before the dawn of the 1990s, following a multibillion-dollar bailout funded by taxpayers.

While Americans were dealing with high inflation and interest rates during the second half of the 1980s, over in Japan, consumers were purchasing an unparalleled number of assets, enabled by a low interest rate and a strong yen, inflating the prices of everything from real estate to stocks. But the jubilee couldn't last forever, and the resulting, marked by dramatically falling prices, began a decade of economic stagnation in Japan, with banks heavily burdened by delinquent loans after lending excessively during the '80s.

Later in that same decade, in 1997, Japan's neighbours in East Asia and Southeast Asia shared in the misery during the Asian financial crisis , which originated in Thailand and spread to countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines; it was marked by plunging currency values and stock-market prices alongside steep rises in toxic debt and losses of foreign direct investment. Fortunately, the International Monetary Fund and other development finance institutions came to the rescue with an arsenal of relief packages.

Just as Asian countries were recovering from their financial calamity, a pending disaster was brewing across the Pacific Ocean in North America; it was another stock-market crisis that came to be known as the . After the World Wide Web debuted in 1990, a proliferation of new technology start-ups determined to maximise the vast opportunities of the Web sprang up. Inspired investors supported them, despite their deficiencies in traditional fundamentals such as profit, as they launched their initial public offerings-that is, until the year 2000 when the overvalued dotcom stack of cards collapsed. Starting in March 2000, the NASDAQ Composite Index dropped by 75 percent over two and a half years, erasing trillions of investors' dollars. Although many emerging tech companies went under during the slaughter, a few com-titans, such as Amazon and eBay, survived to see another day.

The following year, a fresh crisis hit the stock exchange, when the share price of one of America's most trusted companies, energy-trading Enron Corp., fell from $90 in mid-2000 to $1 just over a year later. was precipitated by an avoidable corporate-accounting sleight of hand perpetuated under the mark-to-market (MTM) strategy. Enron's accounting skullduggery resulted in the largest corporate bankruptcy up to that point in history. The corporation's accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, was also dragged into the fray.

Another major American corporation, telecommunications company WorldCom, followed in Enron's footsteps in 2002. was eerily similar to the Enron Scandal as it, too, was related to accounting trickery. WorldCom's ongoing practice of "cooking" its books and overstating earnings to make itself appear significantly more profitable than it actually was led to a bankruptcy that eclipsed even Enron's, demolishing investors' confidence and pocketbooks. And, again, Arthur Andersen came under fire for its lax auditing practices.

Americans moved on from these corporate scandals. Most of the decade was marked by brisk housing activity; firms provided subprime mortgages with higher rates to house-buyers with lower credit ratings, thus creating another kind of bubble: a housing-market bubble. Throughout the first part of the decade, house prices soared. All was well until 2006, when higher interest rates and recession set in-and, simultaneously, a barrage of mortgage defaults. The tragic result was the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-08 , which is unanimously blamed for sparking the global financial crisis (GFC), the deepest worldwide economic contraction since the Great Depression.

Following the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, the world was engulfed in a devastating period of panic stock selling. But in Germany, automaker Porsche was busily buying up shares of competitor Volkswagen (VW). The Volkswagen-Porsche short squeeze remains one for the books. While many investors expected the share price of the troubled automaker, VW, to fall as they viewed it as overvalued and, in response, shorted the company's stock, the price instead rose, largely due to Porsche's buying streak. By the fall of 2008, Porsche controlled nearly 75 percent of the competing automaker, much to the angst of short sellers, who bought up the few remaining VW shares at soaring prices in a panic to close out their positions, making VW briefly the world's top corporation by market value.

Although Porsche's stock-trading activity drew criticism, this backlash did not compare to what New York financier Bernard Madoff faced in the United States. Madoff, well-respected in the industry for his four decades of financial service as an investment advisor and stockbroker, would at the end of 2008 see his business labeled: Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme . Madoff's extensive fraud earned the dubious title of the world's greatest Ponzi scam, netting billions until the Great Recession caused his fund to run dry of the money needed to fulfil its tidal wave of withdrawal requests. Like the criminal who inspired the scheme's name nearly a century earlier, Madoff served time in prison but died long before his 150-year sentence ended. In response to Madoff's infamous Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) instituted reforms to prevent future incidences of this multibillion-dollar swindle.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Historic crises are consummate teachers, and this is particularly true in the finance industry, in which failures are all too often duplicated with often devastating consequences.

# data[].attributes.body
This website is going through and explains ways to avoid a financial crisis and how to go about it. They explain 7 different ways to do this. Some of these ways are making a budget, increasing income, paying off debt, improving liquidity, checking insurance coverage, and prioritizing routine maintenance. They explain that because life is uncertain we should always look for and plan different ways to prepare for any unexpected signs of a financial crisis.

I chose this website because it gave only seven but very effective ways to avoid financial crisis problems. Each paragraph for each of the seven ways was very easy to understand. They also summarized the main idea well. I also chose this website because it provided things that anyone can implement into their life as an adult, not just banks or the government. When I read through all of the topics I found that I felt more confident in knowing that if I implement all the steps, that way I will have a low chance of a financial crisis. I will know that if I follow these steps I will be more of a financially safe person and I won't need to be in constant worry.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Ways to Avoid Financial Crisis and How to Deal With It - Rescue a CEO

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
We’ve all experienced unexpected financial emergencies—a car breakdown, income loss, job loss, pay c

# data[].attributes.body
This website was talking about the methods that you can use to improve finances in day-to-day life. Some of the steps take time such as the first step on reading books on personal finance. They explain how reading books about personal finance helps you gain advice on ways to change your approach to managing money. Also, they explained how reducing monthly spending and monthly bills help save a huge sum of money each month. Limiting things like eating out and overspending on cable and/or rent bills, help tremendously when it comes to good finances. They also show some of the SMART goals that we learned. Such as, setting realistic goals. The rest of the article explained more methods to prevent debt and save money.

I chose this website because I think it was very similar to what we learned in this course when it comes to managing money. Also, it shows many realistic and easy ways to do this that can be applied to simple everyday spending or goal setting. Things such as, reading about personal finance and saving each week. I think this article really applied to me well as a student because I still am working my way up in my finances. So having tips for people like me that are still not earning well is very useful.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Whether you're stuck in a cycle of debt, earning too little to maintain your desired standard of living, or simply wanting to get a jump on saving for a major financial goal, such as buying a home or investing, you may need help to get on track with your objectives. Follow these strategies for taking control of your finances right now.

Read Books About Personal Finance

If you need help with your finances but aren't sure where to start, seek financial wisdom from books written by experts.

There are many books out there on taking control of your finances, from how to get out of debt to how to build an investment portfolio. Books offer a great way to change your approach to managing money.

To boost your savings, you can buy used financial books online or borrow them for free at your local library. Consider audiobooks if you would rather receive the advice by ear.

Become an Investor

There are two main ways to make money: earning it actively by working for it or earning it passively, while you sleep, by saving or investing the money you have in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, or other financial instruments. Given that the long-term average annual return of the stock market is 10%, or 6% or 7% when adjusted for inflation, investing in the stock market is a great way for the average person to build wealth.

If the idea of investing intimidates you, enroll in a class on investing basics, meet with a financial advisor, or talk to a trusted family member or friend who has experience in the area. While investing comes with risks, investing consistently and spreading your money in the appropriate percentages across diverse asset classes (stocks and bonds, for example) can help you maximize your gains and limit your losses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Do These 20 Things Right Now to Improve Your Finances

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether you're stuck in a cycle of debt, earning too little to maintain your desired standard of living, or simply wanting to get a jump on saving for a major financial goal, such as buying a home or investing, you may need help to get on track with your objectives.

# data[].attributes.body
This image represents the losses that are involved when it comes to the financial crisis. It shows how when a financial crisis happens many people become jobless and there are many job cuts. Investors also panic and things such as bankruptcy happen. There are also a lot of losses when it comes to assets. Overall it was just a tough time to be in.

I chose this image because it clearly explains through very descriptive language how suffering and stressful it was during the financial crisis. It shows all the losses as well.

# data[].attributes.body
This image explains the feeling of how many investors, banks, and people felt during the financial crisis. It shows how during a financial crisis people are very insecure about their assets because they don't know if they will lose them in a heartbeat. It shows how financial crises' can be a rollercoaster.
I chose this image because it shows a visual description in a very detailed and artistic way. It portrays expression and feeling through every detail. From the meaning behind the roller coaster to the expression on the faces of those on board and many more items.

# data[].attributes.body
Question #1:

What I learned about this topic that surprised me most was how easy it is to fall into financial issues if I'm not careful. Careful with things such as my weekly food spending habits. If I'm not careful I can fall into issues when it comes to paying bills if I overspend. I also learned that it is possible to avoid debt and it is best to avoid student loans if possible.

Question #2:

This topic is relevant to me because I am an impulse spender. An example is how every time I receive money I find a way to spend it to buy food. Many times I don't even need to buy food because I have it at home. But it gives me a happy feeling of enjoyment at the moment. So this topic really helped me to rethink what I do with my finances and how it can affect my future decision-making if I am not careful.

Question #3:

The most important knowledge that I would like to pass on to someone close to me would be to create a budget and savings. This will really help you when you are in a tight spot and need a little extra emergency money. It also will help you become a more organized person. Specifically, an organized person who knows where their money is going instead of letting their money lead them.