Seven Times When Financial Derivatives Teetered the World's Economy on the Brink of Ruin

The Enron Scandal, 2001

In 2001, the Enron scandal shocked the world. This energy company used complex financial derivatives to hide debt and inflate profits, leading to one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history. The fallout from this scandal had far-reaching implications, affecting energy markets and leading to tighter regulations on the use of financial derivatives. This event demonstrated how financial derivatives could be used to manipulate financial statements, undermining trust in financial markets.