Media Mentions

National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition"

Dr. Joseph Mason, associate professor of finance, commented on the subprime mortgage loan crisis on National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" on October 6, 2007.

EarthTimes.org

The Houston Chronicle noted on October 9, 2007, that Drexel University is ranked third among the nation's undergraduate business schools by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review. The story was syndicated on CNN.com and EarthTimes.org on October 10.

The Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle noted on October 9, 2007, that Drexel University is ranked third among the nation's undergraduate business schools by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review.

CNN.com

Joseph Mason, an associate professor of finance at Drexel University and a senior fellow at Wharton, argues in a research paper released Wednesday that proposed remedies could actually make things worse and even that troubled borrowers have gotten some benefit from their loans.

Bloomberg.com

"Paulson definitely has the cachet to bring everyone to the table, because of his long experience on Wall Street,'' said Joe Mason, associate professor of business at Drexel University in Philadelphia and a former financial economist at the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

RealtyTimes.com

At a conference organized by the Hudson Institute, two mortgage securities market experts-Joseph R. Mason, an economics professor at Drexel University, and Joshua Rosner, managing director of hedge fund adviser Graham Fisher & Co.-said the relaxation of lending standards during the housing boom years has led to a rising tide of subprime borrower delinquencies, and could send investors scurrying to the exit door, especially if home values also decline.

PhillyBurbs.com

Subprime refers to the loan, not the borrower, said Joseph Mason, a professor of finance at Drexel University. It's a loan that allows the borrower to borrow more than they would otherwise be eligible for, by lending you an amount that's way above your means.

CNN.com

Babson College and The University of Arizona took the second and third spots for top graduate programs, respectively. For the undergraduate program ranking, the University of Houston and Drexel University were second and third. A nearly 30% increase in participating schools with this year's ranking underscores the growing number of entrepreneurial courses nationwide and the established mainstream appeal of business ownership.

MSN.com

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., topped the list of undergraduate programs, with University of Houston, Drexel University, The University of Arizona and UD rounding out the top 5.

RiskAndInsurance.Com

"I can't really point a finger at one factor, because it comes down to an aggregation of things that all arose around the same time," says Joe Mason, a finance professor in the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University in Philadelphia and an expert on collateralized debt obligations(CDOs).

Economist.com

"Joseph Mason, who teaches finance at Drexel University, was one of the first to warn that subprime defaults would have dangerous consequences for the financial-services industry. He has now written a paper, “Mortgage Loan Modification: Promises and Pitfalls”, illustrating the problems…"

Philadelphia Business Journal

"I think people have become more sensitive to all these issues since the Enron and WorldCom scandals," said Eliezer Fich, an assistant professor of finance at the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University. "On TV, you saw lavish parties thrown by these CEOs who flew their entire families and a lot of other people, and they had these great parties with ice sculptures, etc., etc. Shareholders were footing the bill."

International Business Times

"This is like selling liquor to a minor without carding them, or selling a hand gun and saying they're not being used to kill people," said Joseph Mason, an associate professor of finance at Drexel University in Philadelphia. "They are selling these ratings, and the label says don't use it for investment purposes. That's clearly not the case."

StarNewsOnline

Joseph Mason, a finance professor at Drexel University, says it could be an uphill battle for investors to prove that financial institutions were negligent or committed fraud.Still, he agrees the housing market crisis could result in more lawsuits and a more severe financial impact than Enron and other market meltdowns. “There are so many more investors and there are so many more levels of investment exposure to the sector,” Mason said. “These are widely held investments.”

MSNBC

“He's not telegraphing any rules,” said Joseph Mason, finance professor at Drexel University.  “Greenspan made very clear what the rule was: Markets get into trouble, we're going to bail you out. Bernanke's not being clear about that rule, and I think that goes back to Bernanke's experience and understanding of financial crises over his academic career and his in-depth study of financial crises as well.”

Inman News

Philadelphia Inquirer

But, as Mark P. Loschiavo, executive director of the Lawrence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship at Drexel University said Thursday: "the business climate has changed . . . and the barrier to entry in small business has been lowered."

SFGate.com (San Francisco Chronicle)

Joseph Mason, an associate finance professor at Drexel University, expects to see more problems with mortgages that were disguised as prime.

The Economic Times

Joseph Mason, an associate professor of finance at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said the drying up of capital for investors and banks that rely on that financing to fund leveraged buyouts may begin to weigh on growth. “I’m not saying it will cause a recession, but we could have a low economic growth environment,” Mason said.

Bloomberg Radio

Dr. Joseph Mason, associate professor of finance, commented on the subprime mortgage market on Bloomberg's “In Focus” and “Final Word.”

Seeking Alpha

That is also the view of Joshua Rosner, a managing director at Graham & Fisher & Co., and Joseph Mason, associate professor of finance at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. The two published a paper last week, "How Resilient Are Mortgage- Backed Securities to Collateralized Debt Obligation Market Disruptions?" analyzing CDOs. The Hudson Institute, a nonpartisan policy research organization in Washington, financed their research.

Seeking Alpha

Joseph Mason, Drexel University: “The problem is… what we don’t see… We don’t know the price of these assets. We don’t know which banks are exposed to this sector. These conditions are classic conditions for financial crises across history.”

Seattle Times

Joseph Mason, a finance professor at Philadelphia's Drexel University and a former economist at the U.S. Treasury Department, says the ratings are undermined by the disclaimers."I laugh about Moody's and S&P disclaimers," he says. "The ratings giveth and the disclaimer takes it away. Once you're through with the disclaimers, you're left with very little new information."

Smart Money

But the fact is the Fed's decision to beef up liquidity wasn't such a big deal, according to Joseph Mason, an economist at Drexel University. The only difference between last Thursday or Friday and any other day is one of degree, says Mason, who is also a visiting scholar at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the government agency tasked with insuring bank deposits and overseeing financial institutions. It's important to remember, says Mason, that

Bloomberg.com

The relevance of Bernanke&#39;s work to today is that it helps him tread the fine line of allowing individual investors -- and firms, if necessary -- to fail while avoiding credit market gridlock,&#39;&#39; said <strong>Joe Mason</strong>, professor of finance at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The message from the recent interventions is that there is no gridlock.''

Bloomberg.com

The relevance of Bernanke&#39;s work to today is that it helps him tread the fine line of allowing individual investors -- and firms, if necessary -- to fail while avoiding credit market gridlock,&#39;&#39; said <strong>Joe Mason</strong>, professor of finance at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The message from the recent interventions is that there is no gridlock.''

PhillyBurbs.com

Mark P. Loschiavo, executive director of the Lawrence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship at Drexel University said: "The business climate has changed ... and the barrier to entry in small business has been lowered."

Bloomberg.com

Under SEC rules, money market managers must invest in securities with ``minimal credit risks.'' Joseph Mason, a finance professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia and a former economist at the U.S. Treasury Department, says subprime debt in money market funds is far from safe.

Business Week

History shows that panicky runs can end when information improves. A bank run in Chicago in June, 1932, ended on July 1 when banks simply put out their monthly financial reports, revealing which were in bad shape and which were fully solvent, according to Joseph R. Mason, a professor at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. Today, says Mason, markets would function better if banks, hedge funds, and others disclosed more about their holdings, either voluntarily or under pressure from the Fed. "Bernanke could knock some heads together," Mason says.

Bloomberg.com

Credit-rating companies may be successfully sued by investors who have lost money on subprime-mortgage securities and other similar bonds, according to a May study by Rosner and Joseph Mason, an associate finance professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.