The credit crunch didn't happen overnight. Here is a timeline of how trouble spilled out from the United States and around the world, and from the financial industry to many other sectors of the international economy:
2006: The U.S. mortgage market shows signs of trouble, with rates of loan delinquencies and foreclosures rising.
April 2007: The New Century Financial Corp., one of America's biggest subprime mortgage lenders, collapses.