Since 2007, the U.S. and global economies have struggled through the worst financial crisis since the Depression of the 1930s. Major businesses have failed; large American and European banks were forecast to lose roughly $2.8 trillion between 2007 and 2010; the S&P 500, a major stock index, fell 45% from its high in 2007; and more than $8 trillion in wealth was erased between the height of the stock market and November 2008. (Americans’ total net worth shrank by about 25%.) Unemployment reached the highest levels in 15 years; more than a million families have lost their homes to foreclosure; and many nations’ governments, including ours, have spent billions to keep banks and other businesses afloat. While there are signs of recovery, including a partial recovery in stock prices, the world still seemed to be in the grip of persistent recession as of summer, 2011.