ABSTRACT
The most recent world economic crisis started in Europe in the summer of 2007, and the U.S. economy plunged into a recession at the end of 2007. The latter in particular turned into a state of serious financial chaos following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008. The world's securities markets were thrown into very serious confusion for the first time since the stock market crash of October 1929. The financial crisis had a serious effect on real sectors worldwide, and the level of world trade was dramatically reduced in the first half of 2009. The world economy – and especially the economies of the United States and Europe – has not completely recovered from the crisis or undergone an altogether strong recovery process.
