Friday September 12
6pm BST: With Lehman Brothers facing collapse, US officials struggle to find a buyer for the distressed investment bank.
Saturday September 13
2pm BST: Teams of bankers flood the New York Federal Reserve building for the weekend to explore options for Lehman. Bank of America and Barclays head list of potential purchasers.
Sunday September 14
2pm BST: Talks run into a third day. Traffic in New York snarls up under the sheer weight of backed-up, blacked-out limousines transporting the stressed-out bankers.
8pm BST: Barclays pulls out of the bidding and Bank of America turns its attention to Merrill Lynch.
Monday September 15
4am BST: Bank of America agrees a $50bn rescue bid for Merrill Lynch.
5.30am BST: Lehman files for bankruptcy.
7am BST: 4,500 Lehman staff at its Canary Wharf HQ are told it's all over.
9am BST: Shares in HBOS, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, crash 34% in early trading.
12pm BST: Shares plunge in a panicked morning on the London Stock Exchange, where the FTSE sheds almost 400 points.
2pm BST: Cardboxes are in demand at Canary Wharf as Lehman workers pack up and leave.
4.30pm BST: FTSE 100 closes almost 4% lower at 5,202.4, a 210 point drop, wiping out £50bn of value.
8pm BST: US authorities trying to put a rescue package together for insurance giant AIG agree a $20bn lifeline.
9pm BST: On Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average plunges 504 points to close at 10917.51
Tuesday September 16
1am BST: Asian markets, which were closed yesterday, plummet in early trading.
7am BST: Japan's Nikkei index closes 570 points down at 11,609.
7.30am BST: Barclays confirms that it is still talking to Lehman about buying some assets.
8.30am BST: The FTSE plunged almost 100 points in early trading.
10am BST: HBOS shares halve in value to a low of 88p. Spokesman insists it is strong and well capitalised.
1pm BST: Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs reports 70% drop in profits.
1.50pm BST: FTSE 100 falls through the 5,000-point mark.
3pm BST: Pressure piles on HBOS, whose shares are still down 30%, with a downgrade from Standard & Poor's.
4.30pm BST: FTSE 100 slumps 178.6 points to close at 5025.6, wiping another £42bn off leading shares.
9pm BST: Dow finishes up 141.5 points at 11,059 after zig-zagging around all day.
10pm BST: Barclays seals deal for Lehman's US assets.
Wednesday September 17
7am BST: Nikkei rallies to 11,749, up 140 points.
2am BST: US government agrees to give AIG $85bn to keep afloat, in return for control of the company.
9am BST: Lloyds TSB and HBOS are locked in merger talks.
10am BST: Russia suspends stock market trading.
11am BST: More volatile trading on the FTSE, but silence from Lloyds and HBOS.
Noon BST: Libor - the borrowing rate banks charge each other - hits a seven-year high as the panic escalates.
1pm BST: Barclays hints that it might buy Lehman's UK assets too.
1.30pm BST: Lloyds finally confirms it is negotiations with HBOS.
3pm BST: Bank of England extends its special liquidity scheme, after pressure from banks.
4pm BST: Morgan Stanley shares fall 30%, as it become the latest bank under fire.
4.30pm BST: FTSE closes below 5,000 for first time since May 2005, down 113.2 points at 4912.4.
6.30pm BST: Merrill Lynch's John Thain defends $200m bonus pool for top brass.
7pm BST: Reports emerge that regulators are probing the practice of "naked" short sellers.
9pm BST: In fresh gloom on Wall Street, the Dow sheds 449 points to close at 10,609.
9.30pm BST: HBOS takeover is finalised.
Midnight BST: Morgan Stanley looks for salvation through a merger with Wachovia.
Thursday September 18
6am BST : Russian stock markets remain closed for a second day. More panic in Asia, where the Nikkei drops 260 points to 11,489.
7am BST: £12.2bn takeover of HBOS is announced to the City, amid fears of massive job cuts.
8.30am BST: As the FTSE keeps falling, the chancellor, Alistair Darling, insists we can ride out the storm.
9am BST: Gold is at a six-week high as investors flee shares and pile into commodities.
10am BST: Central banks around the world pump $180bn into the system in a concerted effort to end the crisis.
11am BST: India's stock market fluctuates wildly - with shares plunging before recovering after the government promises to help.
Noon BST: The Lloyds CEO, Eric Daniels: "This is a unique moment in time when we could make it happen."
1pm BST: Gordon Brown vows to end "irresponsible behaviour" in the City.
2pm BST: Christopher Cox, America's most senior financial markets regulator, takes aim at short sellers.
3pm BST: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley shares fall sharply again on Wall Street.
4.30pm BST: London's relief rally does not last, as the FTSE 100 closes 32.4 points lower at 4880.0.
5pm BST: With £2bn wiped off the value of Lloyds, analysts question whether the deal makes sense.
6pm BST: UK's Financial Services Authority announces a ban on the short-selling of bank shares.
9pm BST: Wall Street closes 410 points higher as the US Federal Reserve starts briefing on an ambitious plan to create a federal "bad bank".
Friday September 19
7am BST: Asia starts the recovery, with the Nikkei closing up 431 points at 11,920.
8am BST: FSA names the 29 firms it hopes to save by banning short-selling.
9am BST: FTSE roars back, up 315 points in early trading to 5,195 thanks to the short-selling ban and the US "bad bank" plan.
10.30am BST: Russian stock markets bounce back after the government pledges 500bn roubles to fight the crisis.
Government rushes through increase in guarantees for British bank deposits to £50,000.
Wells Fargo scuppers Citigroup's takeover of Wachovia.
US jobs data are worse than expected.
9pm BST: On Wall Street, the DJIA closes at 11388.44, up 368.75 points.
Saturday September 20
The US treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, spends the weekend trying to thrash out his $700bn "bad bank" plan.
Sunday September 21
The Financial Services Authority holds crisis talks over a possible bail-out of Bradford & Bingley, which has seen its shares plunge 90% this year so far.
The administrator PWC battles to sell Lehman Brothers' UK operations.
Monday September 22
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs give up their status as investment banks and become traditional commercial banks that accept deposits from ordinary people and businesses, marking a dramatic change in the make-up of Wall Street.
Japan's Nomura buys Lehman Brothers' Asian operations.
Robert Willumstad, the departing head of AIG, gives up his $22m (£12m) golden parachute.
Alistair Darling tells the Labour party conference that the City's bonus culture cannot continue.
Tuesday September 23
New figures show UK mortgage approvals hit a record low in August.
Political opposition to the $700bn bail-out plan grows in Washington, pushing shares prices lower.
Nomura buys Lehman Brothers' UK operations, saving 2,500 City jobs.
The FSA starts to name and shame the bank short-sellers.
Gordon Brown tells the Labour party conference this is a time for experience, not a novice in No 10.
Wednesday September 24
Warren Buffett invests $5bn (£2.7bn) in Goldman Sachs and warns that failure to agree a $700bn bailout could result in an "economic Pearl Harbour".
The FBI starts an investigation into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG and Lehman Brothers over their role in the sub-prime mortgage crisis
CBI figures show high street sales continued to decline in August.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders admits that in the current turmoil it is "futile" trying to predict where house prices are headed.
Henry Paulson bows to intense pressure to include limits on what Wall Street bankers can be paid in his $700bn bail-out plan.
Gordon Brown tells world leaders in New York that an international regulator may be needed to stop the mess being repeated.
Thursday September 25
Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wades into the debate, calling for tighter regulation of a financial industry that has been allowed to run away with itself.
The owner of Canary Wharf sees the ongoing crisis knock a £500m hole in the value of its property portfolio, while Moss Bros predicts tough times ahead.
Ireland becomes the first state in the eurozone to fall into recession.
Jobless figures are up and orders are down in the US, signalling the dire state of the economy.
Even one of America's largest companies, GE, is not immune from the "unprecedented weakness and volatility" of the world's financial markets and profits slide
Bradford & Bingley axes 370 jobs, which adds to speculation that it is looking for a buyer.
HSBC adds to home owners' woes by raising its rates. Woolwich and First Direct follow suit.
Overnight the $700bn bail-out plan in the US appears to have stalled.
Friday September 26
America's biggest savings and loan company, Washington Mutual – or WaMu – is seized by federal regulators overnight and sold to JP Morgan for $1.9bn in a deal that sends shockwaves through Wall Street and main street alike.
In the UK, HSBC axes 500 investment banking jobs while home textiles retailer Rosebys calls in the administrators, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.
The Queen's dressmaker, Hardy Amies, teeters on the brink of collapse after its Icelandic backer stops funding it
In a speech at the UN, Gordon Brown calls for an end to the "age of irresponsibility".
Traders are worried about the possible failure of the $700bn bail-out plan and the FTSE 100 slides into the red again. The plan appears to be coming apart despite Paulson actually begging on one knee for the deal to be passed.
Saturday September 27
Desperate talks are held over the weekend between the FSA, Treasury and various banks to try and find a solution to the plight of Bradford & Bingley whose shares collapsed on Friday.
Sunday September 28
Spain's Santander buys Bradford & Bingley's 200 branches and £22bn savings book and the UK taxpayer gets lumbered with the mortgages.
MFI's managers ride to the rescue of the troubled furniture chain
In the US, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, pleads with representatives to pass the now 100-page plan to save Wall Street.
The Tory leader, David Cameron, tells the Conservative party faithful that Gordon Brown has "had your boom and now your reputation is bust".
Across the Channel, the storm clouds are growing over Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis which is looking for a rescue partner.
Monday September 29
As news of the Bradford & Bingley rescue sinks in, the London stock market plummets in what will end up being one of the FTSE 100 index's worst ever trading days.
Banking shares plunge, putting the proposed rescue of HBOS by LloydsTSB in doubt.
Royal Bank of Scotland sees its shares lose a fifth of their value and remember: short selling is banned, this is not market spivs trying to make a packet but a growing realisation that no bank is safe.
As a result of the intense fear among bankers about which institution will be next to fold, the interbank lending rate goes through the roof despite desperate attempts by Central Banks to pump cash into the system.
New figures from the Bank of England show mortgage lending collapsed in August. Those people who do manage to sell are taking much lower prices for their homes.
In Iceland, the government is forced to take control of one of the nation's biggest banks.
The German government and other banks throw a €35bn (£28bn) lifeline to Hypo Real Estate, the second-largest commercial property lender in the country.
In the US, Citigroup snaps up troubled bank Wachovia.
Apple shares plummet as analysts worry about the lure of its gadgets at a time when consumers are facing home repossessions and fearing for the jobs.
George Bush takes the podium to urge the House of Representatives to pass the $700bn bail-out plan. His short speech falls on deaf ears and a few hours later the House of Representatives votes the bail-out down.
Wall Street has a fit. The Dow Jones plunges 777 points, its biggest ever fall in points terms.
Tuesday September 30
Asian stock markets are the first to react to the shock news that the $700bn Wall Street bailout has failed. When London opens it is carnage with banking shares clobbered.
The stock market's fall raises further questions about the LloydsTSB/HBOS deal.
The Irish government takes the unprecedented step of guaranteeing retail deposits for the next two years.
Dexia, the troubled Belgo-French municipal lender, has to be bailed out.
In the UK, the government's own statisticians admit that the economy has stalled, while a slew of banks slam the door shut on mortgage borrowers by pulling hundreds of packages.
It's worse in the US where July has reported the biggest ever fall in house prices.
Anyone who does have savings is trying desperately to find a safe haven with government-backed National Savings & Investments swamped by savers.
The banks themselves are finding it increasingly difficult to raise financing with the cost of inter-bank borrowing experiencing its biggest ever one-day rise.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the IMF, believes a bail-out is the only option for the US economy.
Wednesday October 1
The FSA starts talks with the banks about raising its level of savings protection from £35,000 to £50,000 to stop the rot.
That may be too little too late for some people who are already moving their cash into gold.
Things are going from bad to worse at Fortis as the ailing Belgo-Dutch bank is forced to shelve the sale of around €3bn in shares because no one wants to buy them.
It's back to the 1970s in the UK as car manufacturers introduce reduced working hours and new data shows British manufacturing shrinking at the fastest rate since records began nearly 17 years ago.
Share traders are praying that a rescue package can still be put together in the US.
The high street fashion chain Miss Sixty goes under.
Reassuring words from Gordon Brown about the deal with LLoydsTSB help shares in HBOS recover.
Warren Buffett decides to snap up $3bn worth of General Electric as part of a $15bn fundraising by the industrial conglomerate.
Thursday October 2
The US Senate has voted in favor of the Wall Street bail-out.
European leaders are considering their own bail-out, which could cost up to €300bn (£237bn). The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, leads the push.
Economists are certainly in favor of such a move.
Gordon Brown's imminent cabinet reshuffle is expected to create an emergency committee that will take charge of the government's response to the financial crisis.
Marks & Spencer becomes the latest retailer to feel the icy chill of the gloomy economic climate as it admits shoppers are going to cheaper rivals.
Hopes that the US deal may get through help shares prices recover somewhat in London.
But by the close of play, Wall Street still has the jitters.
Friday October 3
The government rushes through an increase to £50,000 of guarantees for British bank deposits.
Wells Fargo scuppers Citigroup's takeover of Wachovia.
US jobs data are worse than expected.
Saturday October 4
Brown attends an emergency summit in Paris to discuss the crisis with his French, German and Italian counterparts.
Sunday October 5
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, says that deposits in German bank accounts will be secure.
Monday October 6
The FTSE sees its largest one-day points fall. Alistair Darling tells MPs he will do "whatever is necessary" to bring stability to the banking system, but does not announce specific new initiatives.
Tuesday October 7
Bank shares fall sharply. The Icelandic internet bank Icesave blocks savers from withdrawing money.
5pm BST: The prime minister, the chancellor, the governor of the Bank of England and the chairman of the Financial Services Authority hold talks at No 10. Darling says afterwards that he wants to "put the banks on a longer-term sound footing".
7.30pm BST: Darling confirms the government will make a historic announcement tomorrow on changes to the banking system. It is thought it will involve using £50bn of taxpayers' money to take a major stake in high street banks.
Wednesday October 8
7.30am BST: The Treasury announces what amounts to a £500bn bank rescue package to stop the country's financial system melting down. Most bank shares fall again.
8.30am BST: Darling confirms that the government will guarantee no retail depositor with the internet bank Icesave will lose their money.
12pm BST: The Bank of England, the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank all cut half a point off their key interest rates in the first unscheduled rate moves since the aftermath of 9/11.
12.15pm BST: Brown confirms at Commons question time that banks benefiting from the government's rescue package will be forced to accept strict conditions on bonuses.
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