Leveraging -- or borrowing -- has been cited as one of the contributors to the financial crisis. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains how the move to deleverage -- or reduce debt -- is prompting wild market swings and concerns about deflation

The meltdown of the credit and mortage markets will inflict damaging effects upon our economic future that we may not anticipate -- much like the fallout from a nuclear explosion. Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains why Marketplace is using the term in...

Mortgages aren't the only financial instruments that get turned into securities. Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains how companies make money by buying credit card debt and bundling it.

Some of the rapid drops we've seen in the financial markets in recent weeks have been fueled by margin calls. How do margin calls work? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.

Credit default swaps have worsened market anxiety because they are conducted in the over-the-counter market, where regulations are few and information about risk is often hidden. Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains.

Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch explains how banks have gotten frozen in their tracks, awaiting a rescue.

When the analysts and experts talk about the current financial crisis, they often refer to "credit default swaps." So, what exactly is a credit default swap? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch goes to the whiteboard for this explanation.

Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch gives a bubbly explanation of the intricacies of "collateralized debt obligations" -- those financial instruments that got us into this financial mess.