<human>: I've been hearing a lot about the 'financial crisis'. What happened?
<bot>: The financial crisis was caused by a combination of factors. In the United States, the housing market collapsed due to a combination of factors including an increase in mortgage defaults, a decrease in home prices, and a decrease in consumer spending. This led to a decline in economic activity, which caused businesses to lay off workers and reduced tax revenues. Additionally, banks began to experience losses on their investments, leading them to reduce lending and tighten credit. These events caused the global economy to enter into a recession.