The US financial system is undergoing a painful restructuring as credit losses originating in the mortgage finance sector of the economy grow ever larger. A combination of factors including general prosperity, demographic shifts in demand for housing, low interest rates, innovations in mortgage...

Derivatives have become an all-purpose bogeyman for conjuring up visions of uncontrollable risk. In fact, recent multi-billion dollar FX and mortgage-backed securities losses suggest that these instruments are not suited to investors who have only a casual grasp of their contract terms. However,...

Economically targeted Investments (ETIs) are capital projects that are expected to provide economic benefits to the economies of the regions in which they occur. Pension plans have been encouraged by both public officials and other constituencies to factor these collateral benefits into the...