Introduction/preface -- Failure of the Fed, IMF, academic profession to anticipate the crisis, disregarded warnings -- Failure of the Quants, mathematical finance models -- Philosophy of Stochastic optimal control approach, relation to M-V analysis; Sensitivity of optimal debt and risk to...

Summary The financial crisis was precipitated by the mortgage crisis. A whole structure of financial derivatives was based upon the ultimate debtors, the mortgagors. Insofar as the mortgagors were unable to service their debts, the values of the derivatives fell. The financial intermediaries...