Combined, this previously almost-unthinkable sequence resulted in a sharp increase in perceived systemic risk in financial markets and systems everywhere. Stock prices fell sharply around the world. Risk spreads on all sorts of debt instruments blew out, and capital markets for issuing (or rolling over) debt and equity essentially closed.
It was the most turbulent period in international finance any current banker, economist, market trader or policy-maker has lived through or, we hope, ever will. Unlike most previous financial crises, moreover, the news about this set of events reached people all over the world very quickly.