The Past 5 Years Explained in 73 Headlines

Updated

Five years ago this week, I called Motley Fool editor Anand Chokkavelu on the phone. "So, Lehman Brothers just filed for bankruptcy," I said. Thus began the financial crisis and the worst recession in 80 years.

Here's what's happened next.


"," The New York Times, September 14, 2008

It wasn't alone ...

"," Reuters, September 16, 2008

The government came in ...

"," The Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2008

And pulled out all the stops ...

"," Telegraph, October 2, 2008

The pain began ...

"," CNNMoney, October 3, 2008

And markets panicked ...

"," Telegraph, October 6, 2008

Bringing volatility ...

"," The Washington Post, October 14, 2008

And a new face ...

"," CNNMoney, November 5, 2008

A few silver linings emerged ...

"," Toronto Star, November 21, 2008

But even more carnage came with it ...

"," AZ Central, December 1, 2008

The horror set in ...

"," The New York Times, December 5, 2008

The "d" word was used ...

"," ABC, December 7, 2008

Washington armed its weapons ...

"," Bloomberg, January 6, 2009

Others shook their heads ...

"Global Worries Over U.S. Stimulus Spending,"The New York Times, January 29, 2009

The stimulus began ...

"," The Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2009

From every direction ...

"," PBS, March 18, 2009

It didn't seem to help ...

"," USA TODAY, March 2, 2009

And Americans were getting crushed ...

"Housing Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fall a Record 18.5%," Bloomberg, February 24, 2009

We realized this recession was different ...

"Job Losses Hint at Vast Remaking of Economy,"The New York Times, March 6, 2009

It didn't seem to end ....

"," The New York Times, April 3, 2009

Some wondered how far it could go ...

"George Soros says US banks 'basically insolvent'," Retuers, April 6, 2009

American icons dropped ...

"Chrysler files for bankruptcy," CNNMoney, May 1, 2009

And dropped ...

"," MarketWatch, June 1, 2009

We became comfortable with the "d" word ...

"," Huffington Post, May 8, 2009

Some saw a light at the end of the tunnel ...

"," The Daily Beast, April 17, 2009

Not everyone agreed ...

"," CNBC, June 24, 2009

But glimmers of hope arose ...

"," CBS, October 15, 2009

For some it was better than ever...

"," The Guardian, October 15, 2009

For others the pain was just beginning ...

"," CNNMoney, January 14, 2010

But the carnage appeared over ...

"," The New York Times, December 4, 2009

And we were reminded that good news still exists ...

"," CNN, January 28, 2010

The stimulus never ended ...

"," Toledo Blade, March 11, 2010

And the improvement became real ...

"," BusinessWeek, May 3, 2010

Jobs still lagged ...

"U.S. adds jobs but unemployment rate rises to 9.9%,"Philadelphia Business Journal, May 7, 2010

But Wall Street cheered ...

","MarketWatch, April 9, 2010

The pain spread across oceans ...

"," The Washington Post, February 9, 2010

As more change arrived ...

"Obama signs health care reform into law," Dallas Business Journal, March 23, 2010

A new crisis unfolded ....

"," CNNMoney, May 2, 2010

Computers crashed the party ...

"," May 5, 2010

While a new age of health care began ...

"," AP, July 21, 2010

And as Europe continued teetered ...

"," NPR, May 27, 2010

America found a new worry ...

"," CBS, April 27, 2010

Old names reemerged ...

"," MarketWatch, August 18, 2010

Just in time for a new downturn ...

"," Telegraph, July 30, 2010

Was this a new recession? ...

"Dow plunges below 10,000 amid bad news on euro and US jobs," CSM, June 4 2010

Maybe, but the financial crisis was over ...

"," Treasury says," LA Times, June 12, 2010

And the cheerleaders came out ...

"," White House, June 17, 2010

But the recession's scars couldn't be ignored ...

"," Economic Times, December 3, 2010

Political fights ensued ...

"," The Washington Post, December 17, 2010

But the market kept rallying ...

"Dow 12,000: Just Getting Going?," MarketWatch, January 26, 2011

The recovery seemed to heat up ...

"," The New York Times, March 4, 2011

Just in time for more political games ...

"," Bloomberg, April 15, 2011

And threats ...

"," Seattle Times, April 29, 2011

Led to consequences ...

"," Standard & Poor's, August 5, 2011

Markets panicked ...

"Dow plunges 512; worst 1-day action since 2008,"Albuquerque Business First, August 4, 2011

And the spotlight turned to Europe ...

"," Telegraph, August 7, 2011

The stimulus continued ...

"Federal Reserve launches Operation Twist," CNNMoney, September 22, 2011

Familiar business names continued to die off ...

"," Reuters, July 18, 2011

And a new asset captured Americans' imaginations ...

"," CNNMoney, August 23, 2011

Corporations were doing better than ever ...

"Companies near record profits amid high unemployment," Raw Story, August 1, 2011

For the most part ...

"," CNNMoney, September 9, 2011

Wall Street showed it still knows how to have a good time ...

"," Bloomberg, November 1, 2011

And not everyone was happy about it ...

"," LA Times, November 22, 2011

More Wall Street games continued ...

"," Bloomberg, February 14, 2012

As new icons were born ...

"," Politico, May 18, 2012

And as innovation flourished ...

"," The Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2011

So did the recovery ...

"," USA TODAY, October 19, 2012

Mother nature showed her anger ...

"," NPR, October 29, 2012

And Americans went to the polls ...

"," Reuters, November 7, 2012

Just in time for more political games ...

"," The Washington Post, November 2, 2012

But nothing could stop stocks ...

"," Washington Times, May 7, 2013

Or innovation ...

"," CNBC, August 26, 2013

And we end this story right where we started ...

"," Reuters, September 15, 2013

Check back every Tuesday and Friday for Morgan Housel's columns on finance and economics.

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The article The Past 5 Years Explained in 73 Headlines originally appeared on Fool.com.

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