In this fascinating deep dive into the evolution of monetary systems around the globe, Nik Bhatia takes us into the origins of how money has evolved to function in a "layered" manner. Using gold as an example of this term, he traces the layers of this ancient currency from raw mined material, to gold coins, and finally to bank-issued gold certificates. In a groundbreaking manner, Bhatia offers a similar paradigm for the evolution of digital currencies. Bhatia's analysis begins in Renaissance Florence with the gold Florin coin and a burgeoning banking culture, continues with the evolution of central banking, and concludes with a vision for the future of our international monetary system. As central banks around the world prepare to launch their own crypto-competitors, Bhatia illustrates how the invention of Bitcoin created a seismic shift in money and merged the monetary and cryptography sciences. His unique analysis of "layered money" illuminates money markets for the general reader and shows how Bitcoin is becoming a trusted global currency. Readers will come away with an understanding of the mechanics of our financial system, why the dollar is deeply entrenched despite its state of disrepair, and how Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and cryptocurrencies will interact in our new monetary future.

In this searing exposéformer Wall Street insider Nomi Prins shows how the 2007-2008 financial crisis turbo-boosted the influence of central bankers and triggered a massive shift in the world order. Central banks and international institutions like the IMF have overstepped their traditional mandates by directing the flow of epic sums of fabricated money without any checks or balances. Meanwhile, the open door between private and central banking has ensured endless opportunities for market manipulation and asset bubbles -- with government support. Through on-the-ground reporting, Prins reveals how five regions and their central banks reshaped economics and geopolitics. She discloses how Mexico navigated its relationship with the US while striving for independence and how Brazil led the BRICS countries to challenge the US dollar's hegemony. She explains how China's retaliation against the Fed's supremacy is aiding its ongoing ascent as a global superpower and how Japan is negotiating the power shift from the West to the East. And she illustrates how the European response to the financial crisis fueled instability that manifests itself in everything from rising populism to the shocking Brexit vote. Packed with tantalizing details about the elite players orchestrating the world economy -- from Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi to Ben Bernanke and Christine Lagarde -- Collusion takes the reader inside the most discreet conversations at exclusive retreats like Jackson Hole and Davos. A work of meticulous reporting and bracing analysis, Collusion will change the way we understand the new world of international finance.

NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A ten-step plan for finding peace, safety, and harmony with your money—no matter how big or small your goals and no matter how rocky the market might be—by the inspiring and savvy “Budgetnista.” “No matter where you stand in your money journey, Get Good with Money has a lesson or two for you!”—Erin Lowry, bestselling author of the Broke Millennial series Tiffany Aliche was a successful pre-school teacher with a healthy nest egg when a recession and advice from a shady advisor put her out of a job and into a huge financial hole. As she began to chart the path to her own financial rescue, the outline of her ten-step formula for attaining both financial security and peace of mind began to take shape. These principles have now helped more than one million women worldwide save and pay off millions in debt, and begin planning for a richer life. Revealing this practical ten-step process for the first time in its entirety, Get Good with Money introduces the powerful concept of building wealth through financial wholeness: a realistic, achievable, and energizing alternative to get-rich-quick and over-complicated money management systems. With helpful checklists, worksheets, a tool kit of resources, and advanced advice from experts who Tiffany herself relies on (her “Budgetnista Boosters”), Get Good with Money gets crystal clear on the short-term actions that lead to long-term goals, including: • A simple technique to determine your baseline or “noodle budget,” examine and systemize your expenses, and lay out a plan that allows you to say yes to your dreams. • An assessment tool that helps you understand whether you have a “don't make enough” problem or a “spend too much” issue—as well as ways to fix both. • Best practices for saving for a rainy day (aka job loss), a big-ticket item (a house, a trip, a car), and money that can be invested for your future. • Detailed advice and action steps for taking charge of your credit score, maximizing bill-paying automation, savings and investing, and calculating your life, disability, and property insurance needs. • Ways to protect your beneficiaries' future, and ensure that your financial wishes will stand the test of time. An invaluable guide to cultivating good financial habits and making your money work for you, Get Good with Money will help you build a solid foundation for your life (and legacy) that’s rich in every way.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Money is a tool that allowed humans to progress away from reciprocal altruism, where animals exchange favors. Humans have used seashells, animal teeth, jewelry, livestock, and iron tools as tokens of barter for tens of thousands of years, but eventually settled on gold and silver as globally accepted forms of currency. #2 The first coins were made by the Lydians around 700 BC. They were embossed with an image of a roaring lion and weighed 126 grains, which is about 8 grams. Because all coins had a precise amount of gold, they could then be used as a unit of account. #3 The Roman Empire is a great example of how coins led to government influence over currency. In the first century AD, coins called denarii were minted by the government in Rome, and due to the empire’s worldwide expanse, they were used across Europe, Asia, and Africa. #4 The northern Italian cities of Florence, Venice, Genoa, and Pisa established themselves as city-republics in the 11th century, and their newfound independence was later marked by the coinage of their own money. The Florentine florin was the first gold florin, and it became the international monetary standard for pan-European finance.

Does fear and insecurity keep you from looking at your bank account? Is your financial anxiety holding you captive? You don’t have to stress about money anymore. YOU can take back control. As a newly divorced single mom making $24,000 per year and facing down $77,000 in debt, Kumiko Love worried constantly about money. She saw what other moms had—vacations, birthday parties, a house full of furniture—and felt ashamed that she and her son lived in a small apartment and ate dinner on the floor. Worse, when her feelings began to exhaust her, she binge-shopped, reasoning that she’d feel better after a trip to the mall. On the day she needed to pay for a McDonald’s ice cream cone without her credit card, she had an epiphany: Money is not the problem. Self-Doubt is the problem. Shame is the problem. Guilt is the problem. Society’s expectations for her are the problem. She is the solution. Once she reversed the negative thinking patterns pushing her toward decisions that didn’t serve her values or goals, her financial plan wrote itself. Now, she’s not only living debt-free in her dream home, which she paid for in cash, but she has spread her teachings around the world and helped countless women envision better lives for themselves and their families. Now, building on the lessons she’s taught millions as the founder of The Budget Mom, she shares a step by step plan for taking control back over your financial life—regardless of your level of income or your credit card balance. Through stories from navigating divorce to helping clients thrive through recessions, depression, eviction, layoffs and so much more, you will learn foundational practices such as: How to use your emotions to your financial advantage, instead of letting them control you How to create a budget based on your real life, not a life of self-denial How to create a motivating debt pay-off plan that makes you excited about your future, instead of fearing it My Money My Way will give you the tools to align your emotional health with your financial health—to let go of deprivation and embrace desire. Love’s paradigm-shifting system will teach you how to honor your unique personal values, driving emotions, and particular needs so that you can stop worrying about money and start living a financially fulfilled life.

A report from the Club of Rome - EU Chapter to Finance Watch and the World Business Academy. Foreword by Dennis Meadows, co-author of the 1972 Club of Rome report The Limits to Growth.

Understand Bitcoin, blockchains, and cryptocurrency with this clear and comprehensible guide Learn the history and basics of cryptocurrency and blockchains: There’s a lot of information on cryptocurrency and blockchains out there. But, for the uninitiated, most of this information can be indecipherable. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains aims to provide an accessible guide to this new currency and the revolutionary technology that powers it. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies: Gain an understanding of a broad spectrum of Bitcoin topics. The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains covers topics such as the history of Bitcoin, the Bitcoin blockchain, and Bitcoin buying, selling, and mining. It also answers how payments are made and how transactions are kept secure. Other cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency pricing are examined, answering how one puts a value on cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Blockchain technology: Blockchain technology underlies all cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency transactions. But what exactly is a blockchain, how does it work, and why is it important? The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains will answer these questions and more. Learn about notable blockchain platforms, smart contracts, and other important facets of blockchains and their function in the changing cyber-economy. Things to know before buying cryptocurrencies: The Basics of Bitcoins and Blockchains offers trustworthy and balanced insights to those interested in Bitcoin investing or investing in other cryptocurrency. Discover the risks and mitigations, learn how to identify scams, and understand cryptocurrency exchanges, digital wallets, and regulations with this book. Readers will learn about: • Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies • Blockchain technology and how it works • The workings of the cryptocurrency market • The evolution and potential impacts of Bitcoin and blockchains on global businesses Dive into the world of cryptocurrency with confidence with this comprehensive introduction.

For more than a century, Times Square has mesmerized the world with the spectacle of its dazzling supersigns, its theaters, and its often-seedy nightlife. New York City’s iconic crossroads has drawn crowds of revelers, thrill-seekers, and other urban denizens, not to mention lavish outpourings of advertising and development money. Many have hotly debated the recent transformation of this legendary intersection, with voices typically falling into two opposing camps. Some applaud a blighted red-light district becoming a big-budget, mainstream destination. Others lament an urban zone of lawless possibility being replaced by a Disneyfied, theme-park version of New York. In Money Jungle, Benjamin Chesluk shows that what is really at stake in Times Square are fundamental questions about city life—questions of power, pleasure, and what it means to be a citizen in contemporary urban space. Chesluk weaves together surprising stories of everyday life in and around the Times Square redevelopment, tracing the connections between people from every level of this grand project in social and spatial engineering: the developers, architects, and designers responsible for reshaping the urban public spaces of Times Square and Forty-second Street; the experimental Midtown Community Court and its Times Square Ink. job-training program for misdemeanor criminals; encounters between NYPD officers and residents of Hell’s Kitchen; and angry confrontations between city planners and neighborhood activists over the future of the area. With an eye for offbeat, telling details and a perspective that is at once sympathetic and critical, Chesluk documents how the redevelopment has tried, sometimes successfully and sometimes not, to reshape the people and places of Times Square. The result is a colorful and engaging portrait, illustrated by stunning photographs by long-time local photographer Maggie Hopp, of the street life, politics, economics, and cultural forces that mold America’s urban centers.

Jo McDougall brings a poet's sensibility to memoir. Recounting five generations of Delta rice farmers, through family archives and oral histories, she traces how the clan made their way into the fabric of America, beginning with her Belgian-immigrant grandfather, a pioneer rice farmer on the Arkansas Delta at the turn of the twentieth century. As John Grisham has for a 1950s Arkansas cotton farm, McDougall illuminates an Arkansas rice farm in the 1930s and 1940s. The Garot family's acreage near DeWitt and the town itself provide the stage for McDougall's wry, compelling, and layered account of the day-to-day of rice growing on the farm that her father inherited. In that setting she discovers a rich "universe of words" in the Great Depression, comes of age during World War II, and finds her way alongside "that whole quirky, compelling cast of characters" that comprised her kin. In this conflicted, ironic, southern-but-universal account of betrayal, heartbreak, loss, and joy, "the vagaries and the grace" of the land join forces with the power of money as family bonds are both forged and dissolved. Deeply felt, unsentimental, and often humorous,Daddy's Money presents McDougall's life and the lives of her relatives in the way that all our lives are eventually framed-as stories. "When all else is lost," the author maintains, "the stories remain."

Why should each country have its own exclusive currency? Eric Helleiner offers a fascinating and unique perspective on this question in his accessible history of the origins of national money. Our contemporary understandings of national currency are, Helleiner shows, surprisingly recent. Based on standardized technologies of production and extraction, territorially exclusive national currencies emerged for the first time only during the nineteenth century. This major change involved a narrow definition of legal tender and the exclusion of tokens of value issued outside the national territory. "Territorial currencies" rapidly became bound up with the rise of national markets, and money reflected basic questions of national identity and self-presentation: In what way should money be managed to serve national goals? Whose pictures should go on the banknotes? Helleiner draws out the potent implications of this largely unknown history for today's context. Territorial currencies face challenges from many monetary innovations—the creation of the euro, dollarization, the spread of local currencies, and the prospect of privately issued electronic currencies. While these challenges are dramatic, the author argues that their significance should not be overstated. Even in their short historical life, territorial currencies have never been as dominant as conventional wisdom suggests. The future of this kind of currency, Helleiner contends, depends on political struggles across the globe, struggles that echo those at the birth of national money.