After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the global financial system nearly melted down and the world economy went into free fall. Indeed, the rate of economic contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 reached near-depression levels.
在2008年9月份雷曼兄弟破产之后，全球金融体系几乎崩溃了，世界经济坠入了深渊。事实上，2008年第四季度和2009年第一季度的经济收缩率，几乎达到了经济萧条的水平。