the government to deregulate industries. the more intense focus on the removal of unnecessary government regulation started more than twenty years ago, during the administration of president ford, and gathered momentum during the carter years. deregulation has altered the business landscape by allowing – indeed forcing – businesses to focus more clearly on a more competitive marketplace with fewer constraints and increased flexibility. again, as with macroeconomic policy, a policy of deregulating industry cannot create greater potential growth, but it can create the conditions under which such growth might occur. a third way in which the government and the private sector together have assisted the process of technology adoption is by fostering a highly flexible system of education and training that focuses on both theoretical and practical skills. in part because of the rapid changes in technology, today's students and workers no longer expect to keep a job for life, and they are keenly aware that, throughout their careers, new skills will be required for advancement. employers, too, recognize the value added by developing human capital to complement their fixed capital. thus, the united states has experienced a demand for educational services catering to participants at various stages in life. the demand for skill development and upgrading has been met in a number of ways – through on - the - job training, at so - called corporate universities, and in a range of public and private institutions of higher learning. surveys conducted by the u. s. department of education show that participation in adult education programs expanded over the past decade, with 46 percent of all adults reportedly having been engaged in an adult education program in 1998 - 99. in part because much of the training is work - related, the rates of participation are positively related to formal educational attainment. the trend toward lifetime learning also shows through in the enrollment statistics for higher education. today, more than 20 percent of the students in u. s. institutions of higher education are age 35 or older, up from less than 15 percent in 1985. in part, this increase has been fueled by the rising number of part - time students and of enrollees at two - year colleges. the latter group of schools, in particular, has lowered the cost of education for working students with night and weekend courses and with the development of contracts with employers to provide skill training. another way to meet the needs for skill training in coming years will involve distance learning. in 1995, one - third of u. s. institutions of higher education reported some use of distance education – two - way or one

. bank holding companies, the federal reserve continues to pay keen attention to hedge fund exposures and is working to ensure stronger risk - management practices. in addition, through the federal reserve bank of new york, the federal reserve is actively facilitating collaboration and coordination among domestic and international supervisors of the global banks that are key counterparties and creditors of hedge funds. this area of significant focus – targeting management of exposures to hedge funds – is part of a broader, comprehensive set of supervisory initiatives that seeks to ensure that banks'risk - management practices and market infrastructures are www. ustreas. gov / press / releases / hp272. htm a collateralized debt obligation ( cdo ) is a security that entitles the purchaser to some portion of the cash flows from a portfolio of assets, which may include bonds, loans, mortgage - backed securities, or other cdos. for a given pool, cdos designated as senior debt, mezzanine debt, subordinated debt, and equity often are issued. sufficiently robust to cope with stresses that may accompany a deterioration of market conditions. to that end, the federal reserve has been focusing on five key supervisory initiatives : comprehensive reviews of firms'stress - testing practices ; ( 2 ) a multilateral supervisory assessment of the leading global banks'current practices for managing their exposures to hedge funds ; ( 3 ) a review of the risks associated with the rapid growth of " leveraged lending " ; ( 4 ) a new assessment of practices to manage liquidity risk ; and ( 5 ) continued efforts to reduce risks associated with weaknesses in the clearing and settlement of credit derivatives and other over - the - counter ( otc ) derivatives. indeed, this committee should be assured that the federal reserve has taken on these initiatives with great purpose and resolve. these initiatives are fully consistent with the founding purpose assigned to the federal reserve by congress : to help mitigate the risks to the financial system and the broader economy caused by periodic bouts of instability and financial stress. hedge funds although there is no precise legal definition, the term " hedge fund " generally refers to a pooled investment vehicle that is privately organized, administered by a professional investment manager, and not widely available to the public. the assets, investment strategies, and risk profiles of funds that meet this broad definition are quite diverse. in no sense are hedge funds an " asset class, " like stocks, bonds, commodities, or real estate. while some hedge funds pursue investment strategies similar to those pursued by