Roles of Financial Innovation and Information Technology:Lessons from US Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis and Its Implications for China

The mortgage loan has evolved from a local lending instrument into a major global security and its role is unparallel to other financial instruments in the process of financial globalization. This paper explains how technology and financial innovation transformed the mortgage loan from a local security into a premier global security traded worldwide. It examines the fundamental flaws of this process and why it does not work in regards to mortgage lending and the re-securitization products that were created through financial innovation. The findings show that regulation was unable to keep pace with financial innovation, which created an environment where actors in the financial service sector were able to behave geographically irresponsibly by using information asymmetries to their advantage by par- ticipating in moral hazard activities and engaging in other immoral and unethical business practices that were centered around localized geography, which ultimately contributed to the global financial crisis. It also examines the roll of financial innovation in regard to the Lehman Brothers Mini-Bond in Hung and its role as a driving force behind China＇s newly emerging shadow banking sector. It concludes with a policy recommendation and its implication for China＇s continued economic development.

Interest Rate, Unemployment Rate, and Housing Market in U.S.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among the variables, and how interest rate, unemployment, stock market, and consumer confidence affect housing market index （HM1） in the U.S.. We construct vector autoregression （VAR） model with variables such as unemployment rate （UMR）, consumer confidence index （CCI）, the Dow Jones industrial index （DJI）, and interest rate, etc., to forecast the HMI. Our model and analysis show that U.S. HMI very sensitive to unemployment and interest rates. Every 1% moves in unemployment and interest rates will result in HMI to move in the opposite direction by 11.7% and 11.4% respectively. However, changes in CCI and stock mark index have only minor impacts on HMI--0.49% and 0.3%, changes for 1% fluctuation in CCI and DJI. Our research also shows that relationships among these variables associated with housing market are very stable in the long run.

Impending Crisis for Mortgage Lenders?

As housing prices start to drop, industry observers are divided overwhether the country’s banks might face huge losses from badmortgage

Why China Should Invest Its Foreign Exchange Reserves in the Major US Banks

The subprime mortgage crisis and the resultant inflationary monetary policy in the USA have left the Chinese economy subject to four risks in particular. First, China＇s exports to the USA might continue to decline. Second in the medium term, the higher US inflation rate will lead to a weak dollar, which will negatively affect China＇s exports. Third in the long term, when the US Federal Reserve decreases money supply to control inflation, the US economy might enter another recession, hurting China ＂s exports further. Fourth, China＇s foreign exchange reserve assets might suffer heavy losses when the US inflation rate rises. Conventional foreign exchange investment strategies are insufficient for dealing with these four risks. Investment by China in the major US banks is suggested in the present paper. This strategy would mitigate if not eliminate all four risks. China could gain considerable financial returns on investments with only moderate risk.