As painful as it may be, letting the housing and mortgage markets sort out these problems on their own would be best for the economy in the long run. Large-scale government interventions are not necessarily the best policy responses, although those made truly needy by this crisis need to be helped.

An examination of what Iceland, the United Kingdom and the United States went through last September and October during the financial crisis reveals some important differences and similarities.

An unprecedented amount of aid was extended by the Treasury, Fed and FDIC to companies, agencies and individuals. This aid was necessary and, in many cases, will return a profit to taxpayers.

The rapidly mounting debts of the governments of Greece and other European countries caught policymakers off guard earlier this year and caused a panic in the markets. But a review of who holds the debt of these countries shows that any contagion risk should be confined to Europe.

To those who don't know, the term "shadow banking" probably has a negative connotation. This primer draws parallels between what has been termed the shadow banking sector and the traditional banking sector—showing that they are similar in many ways.

Did you know that buying a credit default swap can be like buying insurance on your neighbor’s car—and then getting paid when that neighbor has an accident? Learn the ABCs of CDS, and find out why they are so important to any discussion of the European debt crisis.