The financial crisis explained
All you need to know about the current financial crisis, from credit crunch to bank bailout. How we got here and what to do with your money now.
Here are all our latest articles on the crisis, grouped under six headings:
How safe is your money?
What to do with your money now
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The Government bail-out what it is and what it means to you
Property falling prices and more costly mortgages
Stock markets the outlook
How we got here in the first place
How safe is your money?
Those of us with savings are facing the prospect of having them wiped out if our bank goes under. Deposits are covered by guarantees, but they only extend as far as the first £50,000 per bank. So how safe are British banks, how is your money covered and what should you do if your bank does go belly-up?
How to spot the riskiest banks
By James Ferguson, Mar 19, 2008
The markets have a view as to which banks they are least comfortable lending to - and which, therefore, need to pay more to get their hands on the cash they need to keep operating. One way to gauge the risk of your bank account, says James Ferguson, is to look at the credit default swap market.
What happens if your bank goes to the wall?
Sep 19, 2008
The collapse of Lehman Brothers has again raised doubts about the health of Britain's banks. And while it seems unlikely that a big high-street bank would be allowed to fail, it's still worth knowing how you might be protected should it happen.
What is a Deposit Protection Scheme?
Sep 26, 2008
With all the worries about banks' financial viability, many people are concerned about their savings. A portion of your money is covered by one or more government guarantees, but how do these schemes work and how safe is your money?
By Associate Editor David Stevenson, Oct 10, 2008
In the wake of Iceland's banking meltdown, where do UK savers stand? David Stevenson explains.
By Deputy Editor John Stepek, Sep 19, 2008
What to do with your money now
How does all the market turmoil affect you and what should you do with what money you are left with? Here, we give you some pointers on what to do and what not to do with your money now.
What the market meltdown means for you
By MoneyWeek Editor Merryn Somerset Webb, Sep 16, 2008
How will the collapse of Lehman Brothers affect your savings? Your investments? Your mortgage? Merryn Somerset Webb has the answers and the news isn't good...
Five things to do with your money now
By Deputy Editor John Stepek, Oct 02, 2008
Whatever happens about bail-outs or bank guarantees, the average person is going to find life a lot tougher for a while yet. So what should you do with your money till the storm abates? John Stepek has five practical suggestions.
Ignore politicians: it's time to stop borrowing
By Associate Editor David Stevenson, Oct 09, 2008
Vast amounts of money have been made available lately to try and get the markets moving and re-start lending. So far, that's not worked. But that's no bad thing. What we really need to do now, says David Stevenson, is pay off our debts.
A beginner's guide to investing in gold
Sep 19, 2007
The Government bail-out what it is and what it means to you
To ensure that banks have the confidence to operate normally, the UK government decided to spend billions recapitalising them, and in some cases taking an ownership stake. Here we explain how the bailout works, and what it means to the economy.
UK banks: what's really happening
By Deputy Editor John Stepek, Oct 08, 2008
Alistair Darling has announced a £50bn package aimed at rescuing Britain's banks. John Stepek explains exactly how we got here in the first place, and what this means for the average taxpayer.
What the Government bailout means for the markets
By Associate Editor David Stevenson, Oct 13, 2008
Governments have taken over much of the world's banking system with taxpayers' cash. David Stevenson examines what effect this will have on the markets, and explains why we're not out of the woods yet.
America joins the global rescue effort
Oct 17, 2008
The US is to guarantee banks' unsecured borrowing and inject up to $250bn into them. but can the plan can stimulate lending and give the economy a boost? The outlook isn't encouraging.
Property the bubble finally burst
One highly-visible consequence of the crisis is the crash in the property market. Spurred on by easy credit, people were encouraged to borrow more and more to get on the property ladder. Now that banks are finding things tight, the lax lending criteria of the last few years have been abandoned. Now it is much more difficult to find a bank willing to give you a mortgage, and it will cost you a lot more than it used to.
Why house prices will keep falling fast
By MoneyWeek Editor Merryn Somerset Webb, Oct 08, 2008
Despite what you may have heard, house prices are falling because there is no demand from buyers. And prices are going to continue falling fast. The problem, says Merryn Somerset Webb, was never a shortage of supply.
Tighter regulation is a must but not for banks
By MoneyWeek Editor Merryn Somerset Webb, Oct 03, 2008
People around the world are clamouring for stricter market regulation. Merryn Somerset Webb agrees - but not for banking. Here, she explains why we need much tighter controls on the property investment market.
Why your mortgage won't get any cheaper
By MoneyWeek Editor Merryn Somerset Webb, Oct 15, 2008
Despite a cut in official interest rates, your mortgage isn't likely to get much cheaper while banks remain cautious about lending. But the banking crisis does have one silver lining: people are finally waking up to the fact that they need to take control of their own finances.
Stock markets
Stocks are plummeting around the world and the bank bail-outs don't seem to be helping much. Why have the stock markets been so badly affected, and what's the outlook for the future?
The Fed's 'Bad Bank' could make the financial crisis worse
By Associate Editor David Stevenson, Sep 19, 2008
US plans to set up a dud debt fund will only make things worse, writes David Stevenson. It's only a matter of time before the share price rally disappears into thin air
A darkening outlook for European stocks
Aug 22, 2008
Europe has been hoping that the current financial turmoil could be confined to the UK and US. But those hopes took a blow as the eurozone's second-quarter growth figures showed the first negative figure since the euro's inception in 1999.
Short-sellers didn't cause this crisis - the government and bankers did
By Deputy Editor John Stepek, Sep 19, 2008
Short sellers are only taking advantage of the underlying problem, writes John Stepek. The banks made wildly irresponsible loans all through the property boom, and now that the bubble has popped, they are in serious trouble.
Why hasn't the bail-out plan lifted stock markets?
By Deputy Editor John Stepek, Sep 29, 2008
The US 'Emergency Economic Stabilisation Act' was meant to save the world's financial markets. But the FTSE is down again and US markets are still looking sickly. So what's the problem? John Stepek explains.
Why stock markets will keep crashing
By Associate Editor David Stevenson, Oct 16, 2008
Financial authorities have thrown billions of dollars at the money markets. But it has done no good. Investors have twigged that, whatever governments do, a recession is coming - and it could go global.
How we got here in the first place
The current banking crisis has its roots in the US. There, banks lent money to people who would never be able to pay it back. Those debts were then repackaged and resold as mortgage-backed securities to financial institutions around the world. Nobody was sure how much of this toxic debt was swilling around, but once US householders stopped paying their mortgages, it soon became apparent that their bad debts permeated throughout the whole system.
Is the tidal wave of cheap money about to break?
By Deputy Editor John Stepek, Aug 02, 2007
The era of cheap money is coming to an end. That's bad news for the economy, says John Stepek. Here, he explains why - and looks at how to avoid the squeeze when the credit crunch arrives
Why this is an entirely new kind of credit crunch
Aug 03, 2007
Banks have made fat profits from securitising and syndicating debt, but recent market turmoil has exposed the dangers of this process. Laying hands on cheap money is about to get much harder.
What is the true scale of the subprime crunch?
By Associate Editor Tim Bennett, Nov 13, 2007
As further heads roll in the top ranks of America's big banks, the magnitude of the subprime debacle is only now beginning to be revealed as the UK is about to find out, says Tim Bennett
What went wrong at Lehman Brothers?
By Cris Sholto Heaton, Sep 19, 2008
At $639bn, Lehman Brothers is the biggest bankrupt ever. Its collapse was fast followed by the sale of Merrill Lynch. So who's left standing, and for how long? Cris Sholto Heaton reports.
All you need to know about credit default swaps
By Associate Editor David Stevenson, Oct 10, 2008
Warren Buffett called them "financial weapons of mass destruction". Now credit default swaps are being blamed for much of the market meltdown. David Stevenson explains what they are and why they matter.
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