On Sunday September 7, 2008, with the financial markets down nearly 20% from the October 2007 peaks, the government announced its takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a result of losses from heavy exposure to the collapsing subprime mortgage market. One week later, on September 14, major investment firm Lehman Brothers succumbed to its own overexposure to the subprime mortgage market, and announced the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history at that time. The next day, markets plummeted, and the Dow closed down 499 points at 10,917.
Read more: The Fall Of The Market In The Fall Of 2008 http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/subprime-market-2008.asp#ixzz3nqd9jrmZ
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