Summary: First, the $700 billion rescue for the economy was about buying devalued mortgage-backed securities from banks to unclog frozen credit markets. Then it was about using $250 billion of it to buy stakes in banks-the idea was that banks would use the money to start making loans again. But reports have surfaced that bankers might instead use the money to buy other banks, pay dividends, give employees a raise and executives a bonus, or just sit on it. The uses for the $700 billion bailout continue to change with shifting economic winds.

Summary: Enthusiasm for the historic election of Barack Obama didn't transfer to global markets, as U.S. stocks sold off 10 percent in the largest post-election drop in decades. For the Dow Jones, it was the weakest presidential election week since Harry Truman's upset victory over Thomas Dewey in 1948.

Summary: Many monumental errors and misjudgments contributed to the acute financial turmoil in which we now find ourselves. How did we get here?

Summary: Two months before the U.S government authorized an emergency takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to save them from bankruptcy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight director, James Lockhart, sought to assure the public that the mortgage giants were "adequately capitalized." These same government officials are now tasked with saving the entire economy. Is it any surprise that international markets are experiencing a massive crisis of confidence?

Summary: This article from the New York Times archive captures a historic development that led to the current collapse of the U.S. housing market. In a bold move to help low-income consumers buy homes, the U.S. government mandated that lenders ease credit requirements to so-called "subprime borrowers"-borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings, and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. The policy led to skyrocketing mortgage defaults, housing foreclosures, and the eventual bankruptcy of top U.S. mortgage banks.

Summary: Uncle Sam is pumping well over a trillion dollars into the U.S. and world financial systems. Is this the end of capitalism as we've known it? Allan Sloan, senior editor at Fortune magazine, says, "No, not at all."