The recent global crisis highlighted the risks stemming from real estate booms. This has generated a growing literature trying to better understand the sources and the risks associated with housing and credit booms. This paper complements and supplements the previous work by (i) exploiting more disaggregated data on credit allowing us to dissociate between firm-credit and household (and in some cases mortgage) credit, and (ii) by taking into account the characteristics of the mortgage mark...

The definitive report on what caused America's economic meltdown and who was responsible. The financial and economic crisis has touched the lives of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs and their homes, but many have little understanding of how it happened. Now, in this very accessible report, readers can get the facts. Formed in May 2009, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) is a panel of 10 commissioners with experience in business, regulations, economics, and housing...

Your Guide to Every Tax Break the IRS Allows! HUNDREDS OF TIPS AND TECHNIQUES TO PRESERVE YOUR INCOME THROUGH EXCLUSIONS, CREDITS, DEDUCTIONS, SHELTERS, AND SMART INVESTMENTS!". . . the IRS's worst nightmare."--The New York Daily NewsEverything You Need to Know to Benefit from the New 2009 Tax LawTotally updated for 2010, How to Pay Zero Taxes lays out the simple, practical, and proven strategies that save you money at tax time...

PRAISE FOR BONDS FOR CANADIANS"Andrew Allentuck is one of the premiere financial journalist covering fixed income markets from a uniquely Canadian perspective. His knowledge of the bond market is second to none."--Randy LeClair, CFA, Vice-President & Portfolio Manager, AIC Investment Services Inc."Andrew Allentuck's new book explains the complexities of the bond market to Canadians in an engrossing and deliciously entertaining manner. Superbly written, Bonds for Cana...

In this concise volume, leading economist John B. Taylor offers empirical research to explain what caused the current financial crisis, what prolonged it, and what dramatically worsened it more than a year after it began. The evidence he presents strongly suggests that specific government actions and interventions are largely to blame and that any future government interventions must be based on a clearly stated diagnosis of the problem and a rationale for the interventions.

Why America's public-private mortgage giants threaten the world economy—and what to do about itThe financial collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008 led to one of the most sweeping government interventions in private financial markets in history. The bailout has already cost American taxpayers close to $150 billion, and substantially more will be needed. The U.S. economy--and by extension, the global financial system--has a lot riding on Fannie and Freddie. ...

• a roadmap for success• the strategies to use and pitfalls to avoid

In 1920 John Maynard Keynes (British economist – considered the most influential in the 20th century) wrote that "By a continuous process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens." The U.S. Government and the Federal Reserve have successfully inflated prices for a hundred years, and especially since 1971 when Nixon eliminated the gold backing of the Dollar.Inflation is like a hibernating bear; it sleeps for...

The government budget is not like a household budget. This report introduces the financial operations used by a central government with a free-floating currency, and explains how they differ from that of a household or corporation. The focus is on what constraints such a government faces, and explains why such governments only face a limited risk of involuntary default.It introduces a simplified framework for the monetary system, along with the operating procedures that are associa...

Originally published in 1982, Risk Arbitrage has become a classic on arbitrage strategies by the "dean of the arbitrage community." It provides an overview of risk arbitrage, how it has been used over the centuries and particularly in modern markets, with a focus on merger arbitrage. From average expected returns to turning a position, cash tender offers, exchange offers, recapitalizations, spinoffs, stub situations, limited risk arbitrage, and corporate freeze-ins, the book provides a ste...

In this highly original piece of work, Steven D. Gjerstad and Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith analyze the role of housing and its associated mortgage financing as a key element of economic cycles. The authors combine data from both laboratory and real markets to provide insight into the bubble propensity of real-world economic actors and use novel historical analysis on the Great Recession, the Great Depression, and all of the post-World War II recessions to establish the critical roles of ...

Industry luminary Robert Pozen offers his insights on the future of U.S. financeThe recent credit crisis and the resulting bailout program are unprecedented events in the financial industry. While it's important to understand what got us here, it's even more important to consider how we should get out. While there is little question that immediate action was required to stabilize the situation, it is now time to look for a long-term plan to reform the United States financial indust...