This volume is an extremely readable guide to the world of international finance by two former City Editors of The Times. It is designed for people who want to understand something of the world’s financial affairs and learn how to follow jargon on the City pages of newspapers or money programmes on radio and television. Starting with the basic facts, the authors gently guide you through the world’s money maze – so that by the time you have reached the last chapter you should be able to understand the newspaper extracts printed at the end of the book. The World’s Money aims to answer some of the many questions of the times in which it was published: Why had there been so many monetary crises? How were they caused? What is the role of gold in international finance? How do exchange rates, the IMF, the World Bank, the eurodollar market work? What is the new World Money? How was the pound devalued? Can 1929 recur? The material is equally suitable for students, sixth-formers, economists and the armchair reader. Contemporary events are used as examples and illustrations, the history and the future of money discussed, so that the book is at once topical for its times and of lasting value.

This book is an extremely readable guide to the world of international finance by two former City Editors of The Times. It is designed for people who want to understand something of the world's financial affairs and learn how to follow jargon on the City pages of newspapers or money programmes on radio and television. Starting with the basic facts, the authors gently guide you through the world's money maze - so that by the time you have reached the last chapter you should be able to understand the newspaper extracts printed at the end of the book. The World's Money aims to answer some of the many questions of the times in which it was published: Why had there been so many monetary crises? How were they caused? What is the role of gold in international finance? How do exchange rates, the IMF, the World Bank, the eurodollar market work? What is the new World Money? How was the pound devalued? Can 1929 recur? The material is equally suitable for students, sixth-formers, economists and the armchair reader. Contemporary events are used as examples and illustrations, the history and the future of money discussed, so that the book is at once topical for its times and of lasting value.

Argues that the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Depression occurred as a result of poor decisions on the part of four central bankers who jointly attempted to reconstruct international finance by reinstating the gold standard.

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.

An authoritative guide to the new economics of our crisis-filled century. Published in collaboration with the Institute for New Economic Thinking. The 2008 financial crisis was a seismic event that laid bare how financial institutions’ instabilities can have devastating effects on societies and economies. COVID-19 brought similar financial devastation at the beginning of 2020 and once more massive interventions by central banks were needed to heed off the collapse of the financial system. All of which begs the question: why is our financial system so fragile and vulnerable that it needs government support so often? For a generation of economists who have risen to prominence since 2008, these events have defined not only how they view financial instability, but financial markets more broadly. Leveraged brings together these voices to take stock of what we have learned about the costs and causes of financial fragility and to offer a new canonical framework for understanding it. Their message: the origins of financial instability in modern economies run deeper than the technical debates around banking regulation, countercyclical capital buffers, or living wills for financial institutions. Leveraged offers a fundamentally new picture of how financial institutions and societies coexist, for better or worse. The essays here mark a new starting point for research in financial economics. As we muddle through the effects of a second financial crisis in this young century, Leveraged provides a road map and a research agenda for the future.

“Mervyn King may well have written the most important book to come out of the financial crisis. Agree or disagree, King’s visionary ideas deserve the attention of everyone from economics students to heads of state.” —Lawrence H. Summers Something is wrong with our banking system. We all sense that, but Mervyn King knows it firsthand; his ten years at the helm of the Bank of England, including at the height of the financial crisis, revealed profound truths about the mechanisms of our capitalist society. In The End of Alchemy he offers us an essential work about the history and future of money and banking, the keys to modern finance. The Industrial Revolution built the foundation of our modern capitalist age. Yet the flowering of technological innovations during that dynamic period relied on the widespread adoption of two much older ideas: the creation of paper money and the invention of banks that issued credit. We take these systems for granted today, yet at their core both ideas were revolutionary and almost magical. Common paper became as precious as gold, and risky long-term loans were transformed into safe short-term bank deposits. As King argues, this is financial alchemy—the creation of extraordinary financial powers that defy reality and common sense. Faith in these powers has led to huge benefits; the liquidity they create has fueled economic growth for two centuries now. However, they have also produced an unending string of economic disasters, from hyperinflations to banking collapses to the recent global recession and current stagnation. How do we reconcile the potent strengths of these ideas with their inherent weaknesses? King draws on his unique experience to present fresh interpretations of these economic forces and to point the way forward for the global economy. His bold solutions cut through current overstuffed and needlessly complex legislation to provide a clear path to durable prosperity and the end of overreliance on the alchemy of our financial ancestors.

This book is concerned with developments in three main areas of monetary history: domestic commercial banking; monetary policy; and the UK’s international financial position. For ease of analysis the 160 years under study are arranged into three clear chronological divisons. Part 1 covers the years 1826-1913, a period in which the UK emerged as the world’s leading economic power. It was in these years that an extensive and fully-operative domestic banking system was established. Part 2 covers 1914 to 1939 – the years which marked a break in the traditional monetary arrangements of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part 3 covers 1939-1986 when the dominance of state influence within the domestic money markets was re-established by the Second World War and the acceptance by the authorities of the obligation to ‘manage’ the economy which meant that successive postwar governments took direct responsibility for the conduct of monetary and credit policy.

An international bestseller, SUPERHUBS offers a startling new perspective on how the world's elite make the decisions that impact all our lives. A BLOOMBERG Best Book of the Year Winner, Silver Medal, Axiom Business Book Awards 2018 FOREWORD BY NOURIEL ROUBINI $UPERHUBS is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how the world's most powerful titans, the "superhubs," pull the levers of our global financial system. Combining insider's knowledge with principles of network science, Sandra Navidi offers a startling new perspective on how superhubs build their powerful networks and how their decisions impact all our lives. $UPERHUBS reveals what happens at the exclusive, invitation-only platforms - The World Economic Forum in Davos, the meetings of the International Monetary Fund, think-tank gatherings and exclusive galas. This is the most vivid portrait to date of the global elite: the bank CEOs, fund managers, billionaire financiers and politicians who, through their interlocking relationships and collective influence are transforming our increasingly fragile financial system, economy and society.

"[A] magnificent history of money and finance."—New York Times Book Review "Convincingly makes the case that finance is a change-maker of change-makers."—Financial Times In the aftermath of recent financial crises, it's easy to see finance as a wrecking ball: something that destroys fortunes and jobs, and undermines governments and banks. In Money Changes Everything, leading financial historian William Goetzmann argues the exact opposite—that the development of finance has made the growth of civilizations possible. Goetzmann explains that finance is a time machine, a technology that allows us to move value forward and backward through time; and that this innovation has changed the very way we think about and plan for the future. He shows how finance was present at key moments in history: driving the invention of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, spurring the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome to become great empires, determining the rise and fall of dynasties in imperial China, and underwriting the trade expeditions that led Europeans to the New World. He also demonstrates how the apparatus we associate with a modern economy—stock markets, lines of credit, complex financial products, and international trade—were repeatedly developed, forgotten, and reinvented over the course of human history. Exploring the critical role of finance over the millennia, and around the world, Goetzmann details how wondrous financial technologies and institutions—money, bonds, banks, corporations, and more—have helped urban centers to expand and cultures to flourish. And it's not done reshaping our lives, as Goetzmann considers the challenges we face in the future, such as how to use the power of finance to care for an aging and expanding population. Money Changes Everything presents a fascinating look into the way that finance has steered the course of history.