The document discusses the causes and patterns of financial crises. It notes that financial crises are typically caused by rapid credit expansion and contraction, liquidity traps, greed and panic. It then lists some major financial crises throughout history, including the savings and loan crisis in the US in 1984, the Asian financial crisis in 1998, and the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. The document suggests that financial crises tend to occur in cycles and explores some of the underlying factors that contributed to the US and European crises.