The recent economic slowdown – followed by the even more recent Wall Street implosion – was greeted by cries of “NOBODY COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS” from the permabull community. But a handful of economists did predict it – including New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and our very own Stern professor Nouriel Roubini.

In mid-August, Roubini was profiled by the New York Times Magazine in a piece that gave him the monicker “Dr. Doom.” The article opens with a description of a talk Roubin gave in 2006, in which he made some startling predictions:

He laid out a bleak sequence of events: homeowners defaulting on mortgages, trillions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities unraveling worldwide and the global financial system shuddering to a halt. These developments, he went on, could cripple or destroy hedge funds, investment banks and other major financial institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Which is, of course, more or less what happened.

Since that talk, Roubini has risen from relative obscurity to … well, let’s put it this way: a Google News search for “Nouriel Roubini” brings up 1,402 hits, and the good professor is quoted as an expert in pieces on the meltdown from Reuters and Business Week, among others.

Developing, as we try to get in touch with Professor Roubini and ask him a few questions of our own. In the meantime, what questions do you want to hear him answer? Leave them in the comments, and I’ll ask the best ones along with a few of my own.

Photo Credit: Dean Stattman