Anatomy Of A Crisis [Forbes]

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Written by Elizabeth Leonard.

Comprehensive in scope, Too Big to Save looks at each of the factors that played a role in the crisis: the housing boom, subprime loans and the impact of mortgage-backed securities; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; credit default swaps, AIG and collateralized debt obligations; hedge funds and short selling; and capital requirements. But this is not an alphabet soup. These topics are precisely defined and clearly presented in a highly readable and well-paced narrative. Moreover, as Pozen explains the forces that were at work to disable the U.S., and then global, economy, he presents a series of constructive approaches to righting the financial system.

Does the Public Care About the Public Option? [New York Times]

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By Katharine Q. Seelye.
What is the Public Option?
“Some see it as having the government act as a provider of last resort,” Robert C. Pozen, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, wrote online in Harvard Business, arguing in favor of state-based public options. “Others mean a national one-payer system based on the Medicare model. Still others mean health care cooperatives, though they do not exist in most of the U.S.”

Whatever the public option may actually be, the public itself seems fairly flexible on the matter — even if those in Washington are not.

AIG: The Secret Bailout [Harvard Business]

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When an insolvent AIG paid out $165 million in executive bonuses, the public was outraged. But that is peanuts compared to the $62 billion AIG has quietly paid out to settle its obligations with some of the world’s largest banks. Last week, the details of this settlement were finally disclosed.

Buce: The Best Finance Book I’ve Read So Far This Year [aka, Cliff Notes for Finance Professors]

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From Brad DeLong’s Egregious Moderation:

The best finance book I’ve read so far this year (and I’ve read a slew of them) is Robert C. Pozen’s Too Big to Save? …

In short, what we have here is the book that every business/finance professor wants needs. Not to assign to his students: nothing to vulgar as that. What you do with Pozen is stuff it in your top drawer and sneak a peek whenever you want to look brilliant. I can’t think of anybody who has covered such a range of issues so efficiently or so well.

“Too Big to Save?” with Robert Pozen [Mercatus]

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Join members of the Financial Markets Working Group in this open discussion with Robert Pozen, Chairman of MFS Investment Management and senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. Robert will talk about the crisis, the policy implications, and prospects for reform. He will cull several recommendations for policymakers from his latest book Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System due out Nov. 9th from Wiley Publishing.

Cleaning Up the Crisis [Motley Fool]

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By Jennifer Schonberger.

It’s clear by now that a failure of regulation on multiple fronts helped to fuel the financial crisis. What’s more, according to Bob Pozen — chairman of MFS Investment Management and author of the book Too Big to Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System — government has also failed, in certain instances, to clean up the fallout from the crisis.