Author: Peter J. Wallison / Political Geography: United States

Author:: Peter J. Wallison
Publication Date:: 06-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: It is popular around the world to blame the financial crisis on the United States. But before we identify this as the usual anti- Americanism, we should perhaps look more seriously at our country's housing policies. Unfortunately, there is a strong argument that the financial crisis is indeed the fault of the United States—an artifact of the housing policies that this country has followed since the early 1990s. These policies produced an unprecedented number of subprime and other nonprime mortgages (known as Alt-A), and when the housing bubble topped out in late 2006 and early 2007, these loans began to default at unprecedented rates. In my view, the severe losses associated with these defaults caused weakness of Bear Stearns and AIG—resulting in their rescue—the failure of Lehman Brothers, the severe recession we are experiencing in the United States today, and ultimately the financial crisis itself.
Topic:: Financial Crisis
Political Geography:: United States

Author:: Peter J. Wallison
Publication Date:: 03-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: In December, the London Stock Exchange celebrated a record year for foreign company new issues, with 129 new listings by companies from twenty-nine different countries. In contrast, the New York Stock Exchange registered a net gain of six foreign listings (a gain of nineteen and a loss of thirteen) in 2005, and NASDAQ gained a net of fourteen. According to a press report by the London Stock Exchange on its success, “about 38 per cent of the international companies surveyed said they had considered floating in the United States. Of those, 90 per cent said the onerous demands of the new Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance law had made London listing more attractive.” By now, it is well-known what harm Sarbanes-Oxley has done to the attractiveness of the U.S. securities markets, but what is not well- known is that the lack of resources available to a relatively obscure accounting group—engaged in the development of a technical-sounding disclosure system called XBRL—may also threaten not only the current primacy of the U.S. financial markets, but also the future competitiveness of U.S. companies.
Topic:: Economics, Emerging Markets, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: United States, New York, and London

Author:: Peter J. Wallison
Publication Date:: 03-2004
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: Some financial analysts worry that high price-earnings ratios reflect unfounded optimism in corporate earnings potential and signal a return to the "bubble" market; however, conventional accounting methods used to determine the value of companies have not kept pace with changes in the U.S. economy and are therefore understating the value of America's most dynamic companies. High price-earnings ratios seem to indicate that investors are wise to that.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:: United States and America

Author:: Peter J. Wallison
Publication Date:: 09-2003
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:: An array of stimulus factors has failed to generate strong growth in the U.S. economy. That may largely be a consequence of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the stock exchange regulations it has spawned, which have altered the composition and dynamics of corporate boards in ways that discourage risk-taking.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:: United States

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