Financialialization is the shift from production to finance.
The economy has slowed down for decades. Real wages have not gone up but have stagnated for 30 years. Consumption has been based mainly on borrowing. Speculation provided stimulus and kept the economy from sinking.
Bundling risk enabled expanding the mortgage market. Structured investment vehicles (SIVs) were created so risks did not appear on the balance sheets. All this created greater risk like a bunch of fire crackers bundled together.
to read John Bellamy Foster's article, click on
http://www.monthlyreview.org/080401foster.php