Electronic Bulletin, December 2008, No. 2

Electronic Bulletin
Public Affairs Section, U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong
December 2008, No. 2

(The Electronic Bulletin is an information service published by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General and provided to subscribers by e-mail and fax. Except for the U.S. Government sites, the opinions expressed on the Internet sites listed here do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Government.)

The Origins of the Financial Crisis
Martin Neil Baily, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
Robert E. Litan, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
Matthew S. Johnson, Senior Research Assistant, Economic Studies
The Brookings Institution
November 2008

The report is available online. (PDF file)*

*(To view and print PDF files, please download the FREE Adobe Reader.)

The financial crisis that has been wreaking havoc in markets in the U.S. and across the world since August 2007 had its origins in an asset price bubble that interacted with new kinds of financial innovations that masked risk; with companies that failed to follow their own risk management procedures; and with regulators and supervisors that failed to restrain excessive taking.

(Source: From the report summary at the Brooking Institution website)

Subject: Global Economy