Societies exchange services and goods on the basis of a universal medium of exchange to which a value is assigned: money. Such valuation may fluctuate, evolve and crash.

We speak of a financial crisis as confidence in financial institutions and / or the value of money decreases rapidly.
A stock market crash is a sudden sharp drop in the prices of many stocks on the stock exchange.
(Every bad day on the stock exchange is called black. There are multiple, for each weekday. For the stock market it is usually a Monday. I myself sometimes have a black Monday...)

In 1929 began in New York the first stock market crash with global implications: the Great Depression. In the previous boom, shares in companies by investors became increasingly aware of speculation, out of touch with economic reality.
On Black Thursday, October 24, 1929 began a price drop, followed by panic selling (everyone wants as quick cash as possible before it's too late) and a collapse. Only in 1954 were the prices back to the level (381.17) of 1929. Poverty, unemployment and hunger were the result.

After World War II, the dollar was linked to the value of gold. With this gold standard, the money spent was covered by an equivalent value of bullion that was saved for the U.S. at Fort Knox. An ounce of gold was equal to $ 35. Thus, the exchange rates were stabilized and became the dollar the (global payment) standard. Liquidity represents a real value in gold and silver.
The legendary gold vault at Fort Knox, Kentucky, was built in 1936.
Meanwhile, there are several claims that only a fraction of the gold is present in the vault. They are never convincingly contradicted or refuted. On the contrary.
In March 1973 the dollar was by Nixon disconnected of gold. Thus forced America the rest of the world to move to floating exchange rates.

On Friday, October 16, 1987, the Dow Jones index, the U.S. stock market index closed 4.6 percent lower. Rates suddenly and quickly lowered, on Black Monday, October 19, 1987 one stock index dragged the other along in a downward spiral. Hundreds of supercomputers and algorithms of hundreds of investors anywhere in the world made thousands of transactions in a microsecond at fairs. Those mathematically generate profits have no added value. They abused only the added value that others are supposed to will provide. Electronics and money hungry run the system in to destruction, that itself is the victim.

The crisis began in 2007 with a stagnant housing market in the United States where packaged in bundles of bonds (doubtful) loans in the lowest segment (subprime) quickly lost value. This put financial institutions in trouble.
Americans could no longer pay the monthly mortgage, mortgage banks were at or over the edge of bankruptcy.
Also in Europe there is a housing bubble. The relationship between savings and mortgages in the Netherlands is 200%. There are loans from 7 to 9 X annual income arranged.
In the Netherlands, 120% of the income goes to mortgages, in the U.S. this is 90%.

In 2008, the stock markets plummeted worldwide by the impact of the credit crisis. Banks fail. The worst of the credit crisis seems the collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008. Several U.S. banks then come massively in trouble. In the Benelux bancassurance group Fortis was rescued from ruin by nationalization. Prices fell globally by tens of percent.

In early 2010, the crisis changes of theme: the government debt. This led in April 2010 to a crisis over Greece's public finances. Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium threaten a financial or euro crisis to come.

The fact that 1% of the richest people becoming richer by speculation, leads in the U.S. and the EU to demonstrations of the Occupy movement that wants to talk for the 99% others.

Affordability of sovereign debt that governments made to 'save' banks after their irresponsible speculative behavior and fictitious capital, banks and especially the culture of greed in which leaders pay themselves skyrocketing bonuses are taken sharply to task.

Speculation is a transaction that is intended to make profit through (the right to purchase) sell or buy goods quickly. Usually there is only fictitious trade.
For profit is increasingly acted in things whose value is fictitious and unreal (share, fashion clothes, brand car, house, land). Life necessary things like space, healthy food and water, health will be severely undervalued. By who has it (in abundance).

Gages for athletes, artists, managers and politicians are in sharp contrast to that of productive workers who grow food, clothing or make cars. Ensuring basic needs is valued less than luxurious, idealistic goods (patent, image, name, design, data) is rated higher than tangible material (ore, wood, rice). Hot air is more expensive than gold.
(Hot air: blabla, empty promises, whipped talk with little substance.)

Money does not exist. Or only partially. Just as numbers on paper, in an accounting or computer. As owners would want to pick up the value behind the numbers as money, each bank would very soon have to close the doors. That money is just not there. It is fictional.

Savings that a Dutch bank has would typically 6 x be lent. This is known as fractional reserve banking. There is only a small proportion real value (deposits) and a lot of this "money” is hot air.

Banks make a profit by money that does not exist to lend to multiple users, and collect interest thereon. Previously charging interest on loans was called ‘profiteering’. There were severe penalties, even the death penalty. Any form of earning money by just possessing it was seen as parasitism or theft. There is in the Roman Catholic Church until the nineteenth century, a ban on interest: that is reap where you have not sown.
Deut. 23:19. Lactantius in 310: “As a Christian borrows money, he may receive no interest back because receive more back than he has been giving is unjust."
Several religions find borrow at interest reprehensible and forbidden.

There is no remedy to return the huge bubble of fictitious capital into real capital. The system seems to have to crash just yet.

The sky is the limit. Indeed, the higher, the more tenuous. Above that only remains hovering and flying without base or feet or on the ground.

Nobody knows where it may end. If the need comes to shove, you better have a basement full of water and food supply, then full of money and gold. Perhaps a exploding money- and stock bubble will force us to return to basic values ​​and simpler, fairer life.

The radical left-wing Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek (1949) inspired the Occupy movement with many questions and few answers about the failure of capitalism. "Give us perspective,” they say. 'Show us the light at the end of the tunnel.“ I say “There is always light at the end of the tunnel. But usually that of another train that rushes at you."

The American Way of Life must give way to a sustainable world, no growth in capital and the economy, but in ecology...

Only the poor will help other poor. (Frank Hardy)
When people rob banks they will be punished. When bankers rob people they get a bonus. (?)
Poor are people like us, except that they have no money. (Coluche)
Poverty is not a shame, but the fault of the previous government. (Van Kooten & De Bie)
The only money that you will enjoy is the money that you spend. (Jan Schodts)
You have to take the money where it is: from the poor. Agreed, they do not have much, but there are many. (Aphonse Allias)