Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Lehman Brothers, a highly respected 150-year-old Wall Street institution, was one of the most badly exposed. In the second quarter of 2008 its losses were $2.8 billion, causing its share-value to plummet. The bank tried and failed to find a buyer, and on September 15 it filed for bankruptcy protection. . . . The outcome was the start of a major world recession--the result of the way in which the bankers had pursued profits out of reselling what now became known as 'toxic assets'--and the rest of the world paid the price for bankers' arrogance and greed." [Furtado: 1001 Days]