<human>:  Give me a short summary of the events that occurred in the 2008 global financial crisis.
<bot>: The 2008 global financial crisis was a major financial event that began with the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market in 2007. The crisis quickly spread throughout the world as banks and other financial institutions defaulted on enormous amounts of debt, leading to plummeting stock markets and a global recession. This recession was the worst since the Great Depression and affected businesses and individuals around the world. Governments and central banks took action to try to contain the crisis, including bailouts of banks, reductions in interest rates, and asset purchasing programs. Despite these measures, the crisis continued to ravage economies until the beginning of 2009.