Finance Group

When big investors want to execute trades but fear the size of the transaction could move the market, they often go to dark pools—alternative trading systems where orders are not publicly displayed. These opaque trading venues, now accounting for about 12 percent of equity trading volume in the United States, have sparked concern among regulators and in the financial press. With so many transactions occurring out of public view, critics warn that price discovery, the accurate determination of asset prices,…
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The U.S. government is arguably the largest financial institution in the world. If you add the outstanding stock of government loans, loan guarantees, pension insurance, deposit insurance and the guarantees made by federal entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, you get to about $18 trillion of government-backed credit. Through those activities, the government has a first-order effect on the allocation of capital and risk in the economy. The question of what those commitments cost the public is important;…
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At inaugural Sussman lecture, former Goldman risk manager calls for global agreement on emissions tax A collaborative global decision on carbon dioxide emissions pricing must be made soon, or the risk of a catastrophic incident linked to the warming of the earth will rise. That is the word from Robert Litterman, chairman of the risk committee at Kepos Capital. Litterman, who recently retired from a 23-year career in risk management at Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., gave his warning—and his prescription—in…
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