Tectonic Shifts in Financial Markets

People, Policies, and Institutions
By Dr. Henry Kaufman
March 2017
£22.99 | $29.99 | Hardcover | 978-3-319-48386-3

Legendary Wall Street economist Dr. Henry Kaufman explains how financial markets have been transformed in recent years and where they are headed as America continues to search for its bearings in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

This fourth book by the former Vice Chairman of Salomon Brothers recounts events and individuals pivotal in making today's superheated and - he argues - still-fragile financial world.

For the first time in print, Dr. Kaufman shines a spotlight on the catastrophic collapse of Lehman Brothers from his then vantage point on the board. Bankruptcy was neither the only nor the best solution, he writes; government officials failed to make the right call - with dire consequences.

In many ways, the author explains, U.S. Federal Reserve officials have misunderstood financial markets and contributed to instability. Ironically, the Fed's expanded new powers are largely a result of its earlier shortcomings.

Can the Dodd-Frank Act bring greater stability, transparency, and accountability? By sanctioning rather than truly addressing the too-big-to-fail dilemma, writes Dr. Kaufman, Dodd-Frank squandered a rare opportunity for fundamental reform.

He recalls his encounters with Walter Wriston, the mercurial, game-changing former head of Citicorp; the time British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sought his economic guidance; and the Michael Milken deal he turned down.

His account of former Bankers Trust CEO Charles Sanford adds a valuable new chapter to our understanding of modern finance. His reflections on Paul Volcker, through the lens of their six- decade-long friendship, are one-of-a-kind.

In concluding chapters, Henry Kaufman dissects major national and global trends and the likely future of credit markets, financial institutions, and leading economies. With penetrating insight and critique, Tectonic Shifts in Financial Markets is an intriguing and essential guide to how we got here - and our best options for the future.

"Henry Kaufman is very aware of what has been going on, and he is as concerned as anybody about defaults and distresses in our economy and in our financial system," writes Volcker in his preface to Tectonic Shifts in Financial Markets. "I think it is fair to say that cognizant of all those problems, Henry wants to do something about it."

-ENDS-

About the Author

Henry Kaufman (PhD, New York University) is President of Henry Kaufman & Company, Inc., an economic and financial consulting firm established in 1988. He previously served as head of research and in the senior management of Salomon Brothers, and worked at The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and in commercial banking. Invited to speak before many leading economic and finance organizations around the world, Dr. Kaufman was three times designated one of the thirty most influential Americans by U.S. News & World Report. In 2001, the National Association of Business Economics conferred on him its prestigious Adam Smith Award.

For more information or to get in touch with the author please contact:
Rebecca Krahenbuhl – Communications Manager, Palgrave Macmillan
rebecca.krahenbuhl@palgrave.com, +44 020 7014 6634