On the Economic Crisis

Adam Leeds

Adam Leeds discussed how rising default rates in an obscure part of the mortgage market spread throughout the financial system, bringing the system overall first to a halt and then to collapse. Along the way, he addressed such interconnected topics as securitization and derivatives, risk vs. uncertainty, liquidity vs. solvency, leverage and capital valuation, de-regulation and the global savings glut-- all in terms you can explain to your grandmother.