Upcoming seminar on subprime mortgage crisis

For readers who live in the New York area, here is an interesting upcoming seminar at Columbia University:

The subprime mortgage crisis of 2007: Anatomy of a market failure

Date: 03-10-2008
Start Time: 6:00pm
End Time: 7:30pm
Speaker: Kenneth A. Posner, Morgan Stanley
Location: 412 Schapiro CEPSR, Davis Auditorium


ABSTRACT

As home prices soared in 2004-5, consumers, realtors, mortgage lenders,
homebuilders, and investment banks all benefited. But few thought the good
times would last -- after all, everyone had learned to recognize a bubble
when they saw one. If that's the case, how did mortgage losses turn out so
large, and why do we find ourselves today confronting a major financial
crisis? This presentation will survey the damage resulting from the
subprime mortgage crash and provide a possible explanation for the magnitude
of the surprise which may be relevant to investors and risk managers in
other markets.


BIO

Kenneth Posner is a managing director and head of the mortgage finance and
specialty finance equity research team. Prior to joining the Equity Research
department in 1995, Ken worked in Morgan Stanley's investment banking group,
where he focused on commercial real estate transactions. He previously
served as a captain of infantry in the US Army, and was airborne and ranger
qualified. Ken earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1985 and an M.B.A. with
honors from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1991.
He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial
Analyst and Financial Risk Manager designations