".. excessive leverage can increase the likelihood of a general breakdown in the functioning of financial markets . " --President's Working Group on Financial Markets, 1999 Hedge Funds, Leverage, and the Lessons of Long-Term Capital Management is a report issued by the President's Working Group in 1999, after the prior year's crisis in global financial markets and the near collapse of Long-Term Capital Management. This report explains the risks of excessive leverage of hedge funds and other financial institutions to the financial system, and recommends measures to mitigate these risks. Students of financial history, journalists, politicians, and anyone interested in the workings of financial markets and the Plunge Protection Team, will find this vital background reading.