It's clear what the financial crisis means to these stockbrokers Monday. A Duke panel will discuss how it's affecting average Americans on Wednesday.
The Financial Crisis: What Happened and What's Next?
President Brodhead to hold public forum on financial crisis Wednesday
Monday, September 29, 2008
Durham, NC -- As the most tumultuous financial upheaval of recent memory continues to unfold, how much do we really know about the causes of this crisis, and the impact of the various solutions? The Duke community is invited join President Richard H. Brodhead and five distinguished members of the Duke faculty for a wide-ranging conversation that can help us understand the issues and bring some sense to a very chaotic situation.
“The Financial Crisis: What Happened, and What's Next?,” the first President's Forum on Critical Issues, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, in the Bryan Center's Griffith Theater. (A simulcast will be available in Page Auditorium in case of overflow.) A video recording of the discussion will be available on iTunes and Duke Today.
Faculty panelists will be Professor of Economics Craig Burnside, Brainerd Currie Professor of Law James D. Cox, J. Paul Sticht Professor of International Business Cam Harvey, Ernestine Friedl Professor of Political Science David Rohde, and Thomas F. Keller Professor of Accounting Katherine Schipper, with President Brodhead moderating the discussion. An opportunity for questions and answers will follow.
"There is no person or institution untouched by this crisis," Brodhead said. "As a university, we are uniquely situated to bring our intellectual resources together to help understand and, ultimately, contribute to the solution of the most complex problems in society. This is a time to mobilize our expertise in the most accessible way."
At the core of the crisis is a complicated system of lending gone bad, but the Duke faculty members will talk about what it means for the average American. In a recent session with Fuqua students, Harvey explained why the failure of Wall Street and commercial banks will affect individuals’ ability to get credit and whether their money is safe in the bank.
Cox and others warn that policymakers and the financial community have more work to do before the crisis will be stabilized.
“The large number of foreclosures are yet to come up,” Cox said at a recent law school forum. “The subprime, adjustable rate mortgages that were issued in the last two years start showing their ugly heads, being readjusted to very high rates, in 2009, 2010. We’re in for a world of pain there. That’s going to be the tsunami -- it’s gigantic. And it seems not to be part of the ongoing discussions.”
Each will address the financial crisis from a different perspective. Harvey is one of the nation’s top experts in international investment. Cox is widely quoted on corporate regulation issues. Burnside is an authority on business cycles, and Schipper is a leading scholar of corporate governance.
A congressional expert, Rohde will discuss the political implications of the crisis. On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted down a proposed $700 billion plan to prop up the financial system. Congressional leaders were trying as of Monday evening to resurrect the plan, but the House was scheduled to adjourn until after the November elections.
