Predatory lending: A problem rooted in the past that continues today. Looking for an investment return that could exceed 500 percent annually; maybe even twice that much? Private, unregulated lending to high-risk borrowers is the answer, or at least it was in the United States for much of the period from the Civil War to the onset of the early decades of the twentieth century. Newspapers called the practice “loan sharking” because lenders employed the same ruthlessness as the great predators in the ocean. Slowly state and federal governments adopted laws and regulations curtailing the practice, but organized crime continued to operate much of the business. In the end, lending to high-margin investors contributed directly to the Wall Street crash of 1929. Loan Sharks is the first history of predatory lending in the United States. It traces the origins of modern consumer lending to such older practices as salary buying and hidden interest charges. Yet, as Geisst shows, no-holds barred loan sharking is not a thing of the past. Many current lending practices employed today by credit card companies, payday lenders, and providers of consumer loans would have been easily recognizable at the end of the nineteenth century. Geisst demonstrates the still prevalent custom of lenders charging high interest rates, especially to risky borrowers, despite attempts to control the practice by individual states. Usury and loan sharking have not disappeared a century and a half after the predatory practices first raised public concern.

This book examines international out-migration from North India, focusing on the state of Punjab. It is the first-ever empirical exploration of the causes, processes, patterns and consequences of international out-migration based on a robust sample of 10,000 households drawn from both rural and urban areas. The volume explores a range of issues such as current migration, return migration, remittances, reverse remittances, diaspora philanthropy, migration consultancy services, international marriages, campaigns for safe migration abroad and plans for emigration in future. It also addresses questions surrounding the use of paid labour by households to replace the work done by the emigrants and studies villages as the migration setting. Additionally, the book organically links to a well-spread-out and vibrant Punjabi diaspora, as well as providing viable baseline data on a range of indicators. A key text on migration studies, this volume will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of development studies, economics, demography, sociology, social anthropology and diaspora studies.

"In Fame or Fortune, Ned Eichler presents a series of fascinating insights about some of the most famous homebuilders in U.S. history, while raising the intriguing question of who really was successful from a personal as well as a professional standpoint." John Koskinen Former President and CEO of the Palmieri Company "A wonderful collection of stories derived from Ned's personal business relationships and experiences. He insightfully examines the motivations, style and character of various notable business personalities. Anyone interested in the world of real estate and real estate finance will assuredly enjoy this book." Jay Krinsky President Sunmark Realty Advisers, Inc "Ned Eichler is a highly motivational leader, excellent mentor and seasoned professional. His keen intuition regarding human relations and the business world, combined with his extensive first-hand experience, enables him to provide insights to the housing industry and the cyclical nature of the business. His most recent book, Fame or Fortune, raises the question, 'Do you do it for fame or do you do it for fortune?' This behind the scenes glimpse into major personalities in the homebuilding industry helps us understand whether they did it for fame or fortune." Harvey Rafofsky President Owner of HealthTrust America and former Senior Vice President of Levitt and Sons

So many businesses rose and fell in nineteenth-century Auckland that the city was called a &‘graveyard of enterprise'. By far the most serious and general collapse came during the decade of depression and banking crises which overtook the whole colony after 1885. Auckland's commercial elite, which had dominated the city's business for a generation and had launched some of New Zealand's most important financial institutions, was discredited. Some of its members were impoverished. In the 1890s this failure was explained in moralistic terms. It was seen as the just penalty for speculative rashness. Makers of Fortune suggests that although optimism was almost an Auckland trait and was incited by rapid city growth, other economic forces were also at work. There was, for one, the ease with which funds could be obtained from abroad. Many Auckland businessmen tried to make their way by the application of the Victorian ideal of self-help. Some succeeded; other failed after early success. Through contemporary newspapers and business and legal records Dr Stone has traced a story of the fates of individual industries, firms and entrepreneurs, which also illuminates the impulses of colonial business in general.

Based on detailed research and consultation with experts, including the Bank of England, this book reviews theoretical and historical debates on the nature of money and banking and explains the role of the central bank, the Government and the European Union. Following a sell out first edition and reprint, this second edition includes new sections on Libor and quantitative easing in the UK and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

Most of us dream of becoming wealthy. While some take steps to achieve it, few realize the goal. Why? According to financial planner Douglas R. Andrew, flawed financial strategis - or what he calls "money myth-conceptions" - lead us down the wrong road. In his revolutionary financial guide, Missed Fortune: Dispel the Money-Myth Conceptions - Isn't it Time You Became Wealthy?, Andrew rattles conventional attitudes about personal investments and challenges readers to build wealth with new and - and very contrarian - strategies.

Today's top financial professionals have come to rely on ever-more sophisticated mathematics in their attempts to come to grips with financial risk. But this excessive reliance on quantitative precision is misleading--and puts everyone at risk. In Plight of the Fortune Tellers, Riccardo Rebonato forcefully argues that we must restore genuine decision making to our financial planning. Presenting a financial model that uses probability, experimental psychology, and decision theory, Rebonato challenges us to rethink the standard wisdom about risk management. He offers a radical yet surprisingly commonsense solution: managing risk comes down to real people making decisions under uncertainty. Plight of the Fortune Tellers is a must-read for anyone concerned about how today's financial markets are run. In a new preface, Rebonato explains how the ideas presented in this book fit into the context of the global financial crisis that followed its original publication. He argues that risk managers are still stuck in a probabilistic rut, and need to engage with the structural causes of real events.