The venerable Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers collapsed intobankruptcy nearly one year ago, sparking the worst financial crisissince the Great Depression.


The court action on September 15,2008 shook bankers, officials and investors, and caused one of theworst stock market declines in history.

The global crisis inconfidence meant banks were reluctant to make loans, investors pulledmoney out of markets, and economic activity slowed.

Over thefollowing weeks and months, economic officials tried to restore lendingby slashing interest rates, making emergency loans to banks and usingother means to prop up other faltering banks, money-market funds andother institutions.  

After one year, many economies appear tobe returning to growth, though unemployment is high in many nations andis likely to continue rising in the United States.

The crisisprompted calls for more effective regulation of financial markets, anddemands that banks hold larger reserves to cover possible loandefaults. There also is debate over changing the huge bonuses paid tobank executives so top bankers are rewarded for the long-term growth ofthe company -- not just short-term profits at high risk.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.