“Toxie, Planet Money’s pet toxic asset, died this week. She was killed by one of the worst housing busts in U.S. history.

Toxic assets — bundles of mortgages that Wall Street sliced up and sold to investors — were at the center of the financial crisis. When the housing market tanked, no one wanted to own them. That’s when we bought one.

When we bought Toxie , in January of this year, she seemed like a great deal. We paid $1,000. That was 99 percent less than she cost dring the housing boom.

Every mon
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