The crisis: A timeline

On Monday morning Wall Street woke up to a new world order, and it wasn't happy. Late Sunday night, the news emerged that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley would change their status to bank holding companies, giving them access to Federal funds to help buoy them, and effectively bringing to an end Wall Street as we know it.

A day after its status change, Morgan Stanley announced it agreed to sell up to a fifth of the company to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, one of Japan's largest banks.

Meanwhile, news of the massive federal bailout that was greeted with relief on Friday, sending the Dow up 369 points, began to sink in, and questions emerged. Taxpayers were enraged that Wall Street fat cats would get a handout while ordinary citizens were left to flounder. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle began gearing up for Tuesday's hearing, expressing concern at the notion of handing Treasury a blank check, and at the plan's lack of oversight.

The markets expressed their own dismay, with the Dow closing down 373 points as investors fretted about the bailout. The dollar was crushed, posting its biggest single-day drop in four years as traders absorbed just how diluted the bailout would leave the U.S. currency. Meanwhile, oil surged more than $25, its biggest dollar gain ever, to $130 a barrel before settling at $120 as big investors scrambled to fill obligations as the October contract expired.

NEXT: Tuesday Sept. 23 - A spirited debate