Hedging Bets: Financial Services Regulation and the Economy February 6, 2009

Hosted by: Mercatus Center

While the public and policymakers are understandably stunned by the allegations of fraud by Bernard Madoff, investor and former chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange, the latter need to make sure to draw the right lessons from this scandal. The regulatory and legal responses are likely to play a significant role in the economic recovery not only for Florida but also for the nation.

Many view the Madoff scandal as evidence of a failure to regulate, especially in the hedge fund industry. In this CLE approved course, recognized expert in hedge fund and financial regulation, Houman Shadab, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, will provide a thorough insight into a segment of the financial market that is often misunderstood and explore implications of greater hedge fund regulations as well as the role courts of law can play in oversight and accountability.

Dino Falaschetti, Associate Professor of Law and Economics at Florida State University College of Law will then discuss the different ways federal and state regulation affect economic performance.

Course participants will leave with an economic framework in which to analyze the following questions:

* How does state law apply to hedge funds and their managers and what is its relationship to federal law?
* What new financial services regulations are on the horizon and how likely are they to address the problems in the financial sector?
* What role do and should courts of law play in the financial markets? In economic performance?

Official Website: http://www.mercatus.org/EventDetails.aspx?id=25866