Wall Street Meltdown: What Happened? What to Expect? - Podcasts

Description

October 20, 2008 Four NJIT School of Management professors address four topics relating to the recent Wall Street meltdown - followed by a Question and Answer session with the panelists and audience members. Bill Rapp – on Macroeconomics Did you know that in the years 2006 – 07, 1 trillion dollars of equity was taken out of homes?  That equaled 10% of US consumption. Ron Sverdlove – on Credit Default Swaps and CDO’s Financial Engineers, those with advanced Math and Physics degrees, were so far ahead in modeling new and even less understandable bets that Regulators and investors couldn’t keep up. Alan Yan – on Hedge Funds Hedge funds can do whatever they please.  They are unregulated.  Their money making key is leverage.  They buy something that earns 4%, yet when leveraged 5 times, it now earns 20%.  Sometimes the leverage was even leveraged. Michael Ehrlich – on Savings and Retirement DON’T PANIC!  Envelopes will be arriving in the mail soon with the results of the quarter ended September 30th.  What does it mean to you?