Study

Modern capital and financial markets rely on a wide variety of complex instruments, including Treasury securities, debt and equity instruments, and derivatives of various kinds.  Public awareness regarding these instruments has grown since the Financial Crisis of 2008 because they were seen to have played an important role in both the rapid growth of financial markets ("financialization") and their destabilization.  Such instruments and the role they play in modern markets remain little understood, yet some basic understanding has become important in modern financial law practice and discussions on financial policy.This course will review the workings of the capital markets and how financial instruments themselves are used.  The relationship between banking and capital markets, and between government and the private markets, will be explored, as will the most important legal and fiduciary responsibilities involved.  Various principal types of government securities and derivatives will be examined.Warren Buffet once called derivatives "weapons of mass financial destruction."  We will consider the numerous public policy issues relating to derivatives, their role in the Crisis of 2008 (and more recent financial crises), the history of attempts to regulate these instruments, and the current regulatory framework.Required CourseworkThe course will be graded and will likely include both a written research paper component and a short exam (2 hours).Required TextCourse reading materials will be supplied by the Professor.

Spring 2013

Course Number	Course Credits	Evaluation Method	Instructor
710.01	Course Credits 3		Kimberly D. Krawiec
Sakai site: https://sakai.duke.edu/portal/site/LAW.710.01.Sp13
Email list: LAW.710.01.Sp2013@sakai.duke.edu