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Hudson Institute
First Think Tank
to Highlight
Subprime Crisis
CHAIRMAN’S
LETTER
Continued from page 1
featured a paper (avail able on
Hud son’s website) by Joseph
Mas on of Drexel University and
Joshua Rosner of Graham Fisher
and Co. The paper presciently
argued that risky mort gages and
collateralized debt obligations
(CDOs) could experience significant
losses due to stagnation in
the housing market. It raised
con cerns that inadequate transparency
in the rapidly-growing
private label market—and a credit
rating in dustry ill-equipped to
recognize the risks of CDOs—
might trigger a broader financial
crisis. “The subprime market is
new, and it has grown very fast. It
barely ex isted 20 years ago but
ac counted for 20% of mortgage
originations last year. And as it
grew, it changed,” Weicher wrote
in a recent op-ed in the Wall
Street Journal.
The New York Times covered
the Rosner and Mason paper on
the front page of its business
section in February. The paper
has also been widely cited in
dozens of publications, including
the Washington Post, Wall
Street Journal, and the Financial
Times. The specific concerns
about the credit rating industry
have subsequently attracted
attention on Capitol Hill.
Dear Friend of Hudson Institute:
I am pleased to report that the last few months have been very
productive at Hudson Institute.
Policymakers from Honduras to Lithuania to Japan have called
on Hudson Institute scholars for timely briefings on today’s global
challenges.
We have released major new studies on defense cooperation, radical
Islam, and U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Turkish relations, as well as the
second annual edition of our highly acclaimed Index of Global
Philanthropy, which received media coverage in a variety of news
outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and C-SPAN.
And months before anyone else, Hudson research warned of a
possible crisis in the subprime mortgage market.
Our press visibility has never been higher, with opinion articles in
such prestigious venues as the Washington Post and the Wall Street
Journal. Hudson conferences in New York and Washington have been
covered by major media outlets around the world.
As you begin to consider your end-of-year giving, I ask that you
give serious consideration to contributing to Hudson Institute to
provide support for the important research we undertake. You can
use the enclosed envelope to send us your tax-deductible donation.
Your support will allow us to expand the outreach of our unique,
future-oriented approach to the critical policy issues of the day.
With best wishes,
Allan R. Tessler
Chairman of Hudson Institute Board of Trustees
2 HUDSON INSTITUTE / FALL 2007