The world continues to be in financial crisis, with banks, international institutions, and governments struggling to cope with the repercussions of the global credit crunch, the collapse of major financial firms, and the popping of the housing bubble. Sparked by dubious shenanigans around the American housing market, combined with an influx of money from boom economies between 2000 to 2006 which drove investors into increasingly risky markets, the global meltdown is having effects far beyond any one country. A complete collapse of the financial system seems to have been averted, but economists are still calling this "the worst crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s", which left tens of millions unemployed worldwide, drove previously rich areas to famine, and aided the rise of fascism in Europe. The immediate impact of the crash has already been seen in the economic statistics; the US economy shrank by 4% in the last quarter, and the whole of Europe has officially gone into recession. The effects are being seen in the "real economy", not just in the financial markets. Unemployment has risen worldwide, and consumer spending has fallen sharply. ......