The Road to Financial Reformation (E-Book) von Henry Kaufman

Foreword by Niall Ferguson.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

PART I: IN PERSPECTIVE.

1Past Blunders and Future Choices.

2Reflections on Business, the Lessons of History, and Globalization.

3If Adam Smith Were Alive Today.

PART II: NEGLECTED EARLY WARNINGS.

4Troubling Trends in Financial Markets and Official Policies.

5Debt: The Threat to Economic and Financial Stability.

6The Decapitalization of American Corporations.

7Shortcomings in Financial Oversight.

PART III: THE BIGNESS DILEMMA.

8From Financial Segmentation to Concentration.

9Financial Concentration in Economic Thought.

10Do We Still Need Glass-Steagall?

11Banking and Commerce Should Not Merge.

PART IV: FINANCIAL CRISES.

12Postwar Financial Crises, 19662001.

13The Great Financial Crisis of 20072009.

PART V: POLICY FAILURES AND REFORMS.

14Public Policy and the Markets.

15The Perils of Monetary Gradualism.

16The Fed and the Governance of Financial Institutions.

17Transparency and the Fed.

PART VI: PROSPECTS.

18Prospects for Interest Rates.

19The Financial Consequences of the Credit Crisis.

Selected Bibliography.

About the Author.

Index.

Our financial crisis: what happened, how we got here, and what needs to be done

Henry Kaufman-an esteemed economist and statesman-is one of the most preeminent financial figures of the day, with a history of success from the 1980s, when his firm, Salomon Brothers, ruled the bond markets.

InThe Road to Financial Reformation, Dr. Kaufman, who has spent a lifetime entrenched in the world of finance, provides an insightful account of the history and impact of post-World War II financial markets on the economy-what happened, how we got to where we are today, and what needs to be done. Drawing on his vast breadth of knowledge and experience, Kaufman reveals the mistakes that got us into this debacle, the consequences-as they have not been fully realized-and how to put our derailed economy back on track. This book details Dr. Kaufman's warnings and concerns expressed repeatedly throughout the last quarter century, and shows that what he predicted came to pass.

• Provides an insightful account of the history and impact of post-World War II financial markets on the economy
• Explores the erosion of credit ratings on corporate debt in the late 1980s and the rapid increase in financial concentration of institutions
• Discusses the blinding faith in models that rely on historical data but fail to take into account economic and financial market structural changes

With his breadth of knowledge and experience, Kaufman details that this crisis was foreseeable (he saw it coming), and how we created this history-making financial crisis. He also explains the consequences still to come, and presents solutions on how we can recover and reform the markets.

Henry Kaufman, PhD,has been President of Henry Kaufman&Company Inc., an investment management and economic and financial consulting firm, since April 1988. For twenty-six years, Kaufman was with Salomon Brothers Inc., where he served as a managing director, vice chairman, and member of the executive committee, and was in charge of Salomon's four research departments. He currently is a trustee at New York University; Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Overseers at the NYU Stern School of Business; Chairman Emeritus of the Institute of International Education; and trustee of the Norton Museum. Kaufman is author ofOn Money and Markets and Interest Rates, the Markets, and the New Financial World, and a regular contributor to theNew York Times, Wall Street Journal,andFinancial Times(London). He received a BA in economics from New York University, an MS in finance from Columbia University, a PhD in banking and finance from the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration, and was awarded honorary doctorates from NYU, Yeshiva University, and Trinity College.