100 years ago

NPR : Lessons from Wall Street's 'Panic of 1907':

"On Oct. 17, 1907, panic began to spread on Wall Street after two men tried to corner the copper market. In the months preceding the panic, the stock market was shaky at best; banks and securities firms were contending with major liquidity problems. By mid-October, Wall Street was paralyzed; for days, there were runs on several large banks. Millions of dollars were withdrawn, and banks closed their doors. New York City was on the brink of bankruptcy. By 1908, there was a severe but short-lived recession. The man who saved the day was J.P. Morgan, who brought together leading financiers and banks to bail out the ailing market."

Move forward 100 years and the news has an eery resemblance. From Reuters via Yahoo:

"Major banks including Citigroup Inc are looking at setting up a roughly $80 billion fund to buy ailing mortgage securities and other assets, in a bid to prevent the credit crunch from further hurting the global economy, sources familiar with the matter said."