Major financial institutions went bust; others were bought up on the cheap or survived only after major bailouts. Global stock markets fell by more than 50%; interest-rate spreads skyrocketed; a severe liquidity and credit crunch appeared; and many emerging-market economies staggered to the International Monetary Fund for help.
纽约—2008年的全球金融市场经历了自从二十世纪三十年代大萧条以来最严重的危机。有许多大型金融机构破产，另外一些以非常低廉的价格被收购或者在巨额融资后方才得以生存。全球股票市场下跌超过50%，利率差急剧扩大，出现了严重的流动性和信用紧缩，还有许多新兴市场经济体不得不向国际货币基金组织求助。