New Arrivals: HG 1 - HG 9700.9999
Showing 51 - 75 of 89 new items.
-
© 2014,New commentary and updates to enlightening interviews with today's top global macro hedge fund managers This updated paperback edition of Inside the House of Money lifts the veil on the typically opaque world of hedge funds offering a rare glimpse at how today's highest paid money managers approach their craft. Now with new commentary, author, Steve Drobny takes you even further into the hedge fund industry. He demystifies how these star traders make billions for their well-heeled investors, revealing their theories, strategies and approaches to markets. Whereas some still maintain that rationality permeates financial markets, Drobny captures a different dimension, showing how the unquantifiable human forces of emotion and intuition are also at play. Along the way, readers get an inside look at firsthand trading experiences through some of the major world financial crises of the last few decades. Discusses how no market or instrument is out of bounds for these elite global macro hedge fund managers Offers unique and illuminating insight into an inaccessible and sometimes downright secretive world Written by respected industry expert Steven Drobny Highly accessible and filled with in-depth expert opinion, this updated paperback edition of Inside the House of Money is a must-read for financial professionals and anyone else interested in understanding how greed, fear, and the human forces of emotion drive world markets.
-
© 2014,A system reset is imminent. Probably even before 2020, the world's financial system will need to find a different anchor. The dollar has been at the center of the monetary system since the Second World War, but decades of money printing have caused a gradual but relentless dollar devaluation. In a desperate attempt to maintain this dollar system, the United States has waged a secret war on gold since the 1960s. China and Russia have pierced through the American smokescreen around gold and the dollar and are no longer willing to continue lending to the United States. Both countries have been accumulating enormous amounts of gold, positioning themselves for the next phase of the global financial system. There are only two options: a financial reset planned well in advance, or a hastily implemented one on the back of a dollar crisis. The United States, realizing the dollar will lose its prominent role, seems to be planning a monetary reset that will surprise many. It will be designed to keep the United States in the driving seat, but will include strong roles for the Euro and China's Renminbi. And it is likely gold will be reintroduced as one of the pillars of this next phase of the global financial system. Insiders claim gold could be revalued up to $7,000 per troy ounce during this process.
-
© 2014,Hedge fund managers who survived and profited through the 2008 financial crisis share their secrets In light of the colossal losses and amidst the resulting confusion that still lingers, it is time to rethink money management in the broadest of terms. Drastic changes still need to be made, and managers who actually made money during 2008 make for a logical starting place. This updated and revised edition of The Invisible Hands provides investors and traders with the latest thinking from some of the best and the most successful players in money management, highlighting the specific risk and return objectives of each, and discussing the evolution of certain styles and beliefs in money management. Divulges how top financial professionals are looking forward by thinking clearly, managing risk, and seeking a new paradigm of profit making opportunities in the post-crisis world Outlines investments and strategies for the rocky road ahead Gives guidance on how traditional investors such as pensions, endowments, foundations and family offices should rethink how they approach asset allocation and portfolio construction Written by respected industry expert Steven Drobny Page by page, the professionals found in this book reveal their own approaches to markets, risk, and the broader world in which we live, as well as their advice on how investors should be approaching money management in today's uncertain world.
-
© 2014,The Independence of Credit Rating Agencies focuses on the institutional and regulatory dynamics of these agencies, asking whether their business models give them enough independence to make viable judgments without risking their own profitability. Few have closely examined the analytical methods of credit rating agencies, even though their decisions can move markets, open or close the doors to capital, and bring down governments. The 2008 financial crisis highlighted their importance and their shortcomings, especially when they misjudged the structured financial products that precipitated the collapse of Bear Stearns and other companies. This book examines the roles played by rating agencies during the financial crisis, illuminating the differences between U.S. and European rating markets, and also considers subjects such as the history of rating agencies and the roles played by smaller agencies to present a well-rounded portrait. Reports on one of the key causes of the 2008 financial crisis: agencies that failed to understand how to analyze financial products Describes inherent business model and pricing conflicts that compromise the independence of credit rating agencies Reveals how rating agencies large and small, regulatory bodies, and vested interests interact in setting fees and policies
-
© 2012,Create a foolproof budget that's right for you! Everyone wants a simple and practical way to manage their money, but with countless financial planners, budgeting articles, and websites available, it's not always easy to figure out where to start. Filled with only the most essential information on budgeting, this book shows you how to build a financial plan that not only meets your needs, but helps you stay on track. From prioritizing goals and listing expenses to saving regularly and planning for future finances, this book guides you through all the important steps of budgeting with realistic advice. You'll be able to create a visual portrait of your finances as well as learn how to manage your spending, stay out of debt, and build for the future. This book also includes a resource guide for free and up-to-date web tools that make the process as easy and comprehensive as possible. With The Only Budgeting Book You'll Ever Need , you will finally be able to find peace of mind knowing that you can create a realistic budget that works for your financial situation and goals.
-
© 2014,The stock-investing classic--UPDATED TO HELP YOU WIN IN TODAY'S CHAOTIC GLOBAL ECONOMY Much has changed since the last edition of Stocks for the Long Run . The financial crisis, the deepest bear market since the Great Depression, and the continued growth of the emerging markets are just some of the contingencies directly affecting every portfolio inthe world. To help you navigate markets and make the best investment decisions, Jeremy Siegel has updated his bestselling guide to stock market investing. This new edition of Stocks for the Long Run answers all the important questions of today: How did the crisis alter the fi nancial markets and the future of stock returns? What are the sources of long-term economic growth? How does the Fed really impact investing decisions?Should you hedge against currency instability? Stocks for the Long Run , Fifth Edition, includes brand-new coverage of: THE FINANCIAL CRISIS Siegel provides an expert's analysis of the most important factors behind the crisis; the state of current stability/instability of the financial system and where the stock market fits in; and the viability of value investing as a long-term strategy. CHINA AND INDIA The economies of these nations are more than one-third larger than they were before the 2008 financial crisis; you'll get the information you need to earn long-termprofits in this new environment. GLOBAL MARKETS Learn all there is to know about the nature, size, and role of diversifi cation in today's global economy; Siegel extends his projections of the global economy until the end of this century. MARKET VALUATION Can stocks still provide 6 to 7 percent per year after inflation? This edition forecasts future stock returns and shows how to determine whether the market is overvalued or not. Essential reading for every investor and advisor who wants to fully understand the forces that move today's markets, Stocks for the Long Run provides the most complete summary available of historical trends thatwill help you develop a sound and profitable long-term portfolio. PRAISE FOR STOCKS FOR THE LONG RUN : "Jeremy Siegel is one of the great ones." --JIM CRAMER, CNBC's Mad Money "[Jeremy Siegel's] contributions to finance and investing are of such signifi cance as to change the direction of the profession." --THE FINANCIAL ANALYST INSTITUTE "A simply great book." --FORBES "One of the top ten business books of the year." --BUSINESSWEEK "Should command a central place on the desk of any 'amateur' investor or beginning professional." --BARRON'S "Siegel's case for stocks is unbridled and compelling." --USA TODAY "A clearly written, neatly organized, highly persuasive exposition that lifts the veil of mystery from investing." --JOHN C. BOGLE, founder and former Chairman, The Vanguard Group "A book that all investors--nervous Nellies in particular--should read." --Investing.com
-
© 2013,Ethics and Finance: An Introduction provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the ethical issues raised by modern finance. Drawing carefully on ethical theory and with frequent use of case studies, it includes an analysis of the global financial system and its regulation and control, as well as a detailed analysis of the financial crisis. Chapters on specific areas of finance practice cover all the major financial scandals of recent times, from mis-selling to market manipulation and from insider trading to bankers' bonuses, as well as much more positive developments. From micro finance to derivatives trading, the book provides a careful and balanced treatment designed to help finance students and practitioners approach this sensitive topic in a thoughtful and constructive way. No prior knowledge of ethics or finance is required, and the book will be invaluable to students, finance teachers, practitioners and regulators.
-
© 2014,We all know that the financial crisis of 2008 came dangerously close to pushing the United States and the world into a depression rivaling that of the 1930s. But what is astonishing-and should make us not just afraid but very afraid-are the shenanigans of the biggest banks since the crisis. Bob Ivry passionately, eloquently, and convincingly details the operatic ineptitude of America's best-compensated executives and the ways the government kowtows to what it mistakenly imagines is their competence and success. Ivry shows that the only thing that has changed since the meltdown is how too-big-to-fail banks and their fellow travelers in Washington have nudged us ever closer to an even bigger economic calamity. Informed by deep reporting from New York, Washington, and the heartland, The Seven Sins of Wall Street, like no other book, shows how we're all affected by the financial industry's inhumanity. The transgressions of "Wall Street titans" and "masters of the universe" are paid for by real people. In fierce, plain English, Ivry indicts a financial industry that continues to work for the few at the expense of the rest of us. Problems that financiers deemed too complicated to be understood by ordinary folks are shown by Ivry to be financial legerdemain-a smokescreen of complexity and jargon that hide the bankers' nefarious activities. The Seven Sins of Wall Street is irreverent and timely, an infuriating black comedy. The Great Depression of the 1930s moved the American political system to real reform that kept the finance industry in check. With millions so deeply affected since the crisis of 2008, you'll finish this book asking yourself how it is that so many of the nation's leading financial institutions remain such exasperating problem children.
-
© 2014,One thing all mainstream economists agree upon is that money has nothing whatsoever to do with desire. This strange blindness of the profession to what is otherwise considered to be a basic feature of economic life serves as the starting point for this provocative new theory of money. Through the works of Karl Marx, Thorstein Veblen, and Max Weber, What Money Wants argues that money is first and foremost an object of desire. In contrast to the common notion that money is but an ordinary object that people believe to be money, this book explores the theoretical consequences of the possibility that an ordinary object fulfills money's function insofar as it is desired as money. Rather than conceiving of the desire for money as pathological, Noam Yuran shows how it permeates economic reality, from finance to its spectacular double in our consumer economy of addictive shopping. Rich in colorful and accessible examples, from the work of Charles Dickens to Reality TV and commercials, this book convinces us that we must return to Marx and Veblen if we are to understand how brand names, broadcast television, and celebrity culture work. Analyzing both classical and contemporary economic theory, it reveals the philosophical dimensions of the controversy between orthodox and heterodox economics.
-
© 2014,Money Mania is a sweeping account of financial speculation and its consequences, from ancient Rome to the Meltdown of 2008. Acclaimed journalist and investor Bob Swarup tracks the history of speculative fevers caused by the appearance of new profitable investment opportunities; the new assets created and the increasing self-congratulatory euphoria that drives them to unsustainable highs, all fed by an illusion of insight and newly minted experts; the unexpected catalysts that eventually lead to panic; the inevitable crash as investors scramble to withdraw their funds from the original market and any other that might resemble it; and finally, the brevity of financial memory that allows us to repeat the cycle without ever critically evaluating the drivers of this endless cycle.In short, it is the story of what makes us human.
-
© 2014,#147;The next financial collapse will resemblenbsp;nothing in history. . . . Deciding uponnbsp;the best course to follow will requirenbsp;comprehending a minefield of risks, whilenbsp;poised at a crossroads, pondering thenbsp;death of the dollar." The international monetary system has collapsed threenbsp;times in the past hundred years, in 1914, 1939, and 1971.nbsp;Each collapse was followed by a period of tumult: war,nbsp;civil unrest, or significant damage to the stability of thenbsp;global economy. Now James Rickards, the acclaimednbsp;author of Currency Wars, shows why another collapsenbsp;is rapidly approaching#151;and why this time, nothing lessnbsp;than the institution of money itself is at risk. The American dollar has been the global reservenbsp;currency since the end of the Second World War. If thenbsp;dollar fails, the entire international monetary system willnbsp;fail with it. No other currency has the deep, liquid poolsnbsp;of assets needed to do the job. Optimists have always said, in essence, that there'snbsp;nothing to worry about#151;that confidence in the dollarnbsp;will never truly be shaken, no matter how high ournbsp;national debt or how dysfunctional our government. Butnbsp;in the last few years, the risks have become too big tonbsp;ignore. While Washington is gridlocked and unable tonbsp;make progress on our long-term problems, our biggestnbsp;economic competitors#151;China, Russia, and the oilproducingnbsp;nations of the Middle East#151;are doing everythingnbsp;possible to end U.S. monetary hegemony. Thenbsp;potential results: Financial warfare. Deflation. Hyperinflation.nbsp;Market collapse. Chaos. Rickards offers a bracing analysis of these andnbsp;other threats to the dollar. The fundamental problem isnbsp;that money and wealth have become more and morenbsp;detached. Money is transitory and ephemeral, and it maynbsp;soon be worthless if central bankers and politicians continuenbsp;on their current path. But true wealth is permanentnbsp;and tangible, and it has real value worldwide. The author shows how everyday citizens who savenbsp;and invest have become guinea pigs in the centralnbsp;bankers' laboratory. The world's major financial players#151;national governments, big banks, multilateralnbsp;institutions#151;will always muddle through by patchingnbsp;together new rules of the game. The real victims of thenbsp;next crisis will be small investors who assumed that whatnbsp;worked for decades will keep working. Fortunately, it's not too late to prepare for the comingnbsp;death of money. Rickards explains the power ofnbsp;converting unreliable money into real wealth: gold, land,nbsp;fine art, and other long-term stores of value. As he writes:nbsp;#147;The coming collapse of the dollar and the internationalnbsp;monetary system is entirely foreseeable. . . . Only nationsnbsp;and individuals who make provision today will survivenbsp;the maelstrom to come."
-
© 2014,The world has undergone a fundamental transformation since the first edition of Liquidity Risk was published in 2005: the financial crisis of 2007-2008, which was so devastating in its reach and consequences, has transformed many aspects of the financial world and has altered conventional wisdom regarding prudent risk management. Perhaps most importantly, the crisis demonstrated that liquidity is the most vital component of a properly functioning financial system - it is the essentiallifeblood of banks and other financial institutions, and, by direct extension, the essential lifeblood of all other parts of the corporate and governmental world. Fully updated to reflect the many changes in the industry, this new edition of Liquidity Risk reflects current thinking and ideas and provides a ready roadmap on new rules, regulations and governance processes for sound liquidity risk management.
-
© 2014,Strategic planning, including the required quantitative methods, is an essential part of bank management and control. In this book capital, risk and yield are treated comprehensively and seamlessly. And a thorough introduction to the advanced methods of risk management for all sectors of banking is discussed. In addition, directly applicable concepts and data such as macroeconomic scenarios for strategic planning and stress testing as well as detailed scenarios for operational risk and advanced concepts for credit risk are presented in straightforward language. The book analyzes the effects of macroeconomic and regulatory developments such as the set of Basel III rules on planning, and it also presents and discusses the consequences for actively meeting these challenges, especially in terms of capital. A wealth of essential background information from practice, international observations and comparisons, along with numerous illustrative examples, make this book a useful resource for established and future professionals in bank management, risk/return management, controlling and accounting.
-
© 2014,Game Plan is the first "how to" investment handbook of its type. It will explain the emerging risks and provide a complete game plan of response for investors at all levels. Freeman will explain that there is no "one size fits all" solution as events are happening quickly and the challenges can morph suddenly. Just as a football team must plan for a variety of offensive strategies and attacks, investors must be prepared to strategically adjust. This book provides the game plan to respond and succeed. In Game Plan you'll learn#133; The proper use of gold in your investment strategy How stocks should be deployed in your investment portfolio The smart way to diversify your portfolio How to decrease your bond holding vulnerability How to judge a guarantor in guaranteed investments How to avoid falling into the marketing hype for Hedge Fund scams How to find a properly trained investment advisor How to advance wealth at the individual level How to win the global economic war
-
© 2014,The integration of stock markets has proven to be one of the most significant changes to the global financial market. Historically, the stock exchange industry has been highly fragmented along national markets, but over the past twenty years the importance of the domestic stock market in many industrialized economies has grown sharply, while at the same time the degree of co-movement among international equity markets has increased. The last 13 years has demonstrated a tendency between stock exchanges worldwide to integrate.Stock Market Integration sheds light on the determinants of Merger and Acquisition projects in the stock exchange industry from an international perspective, identifying the main drivers of stock exchange integration. Written in three parts, the first part provides a literature review that summarises the state of the art on stock market integration. Part two provides case study analysis of all successful integration projects in Europe, North America, Latin America as well as intercontinentalcross-border mergers. In part three Dorodnykh uses multistage statistical data analysis, based on annual panel data of 43 stock exchanges, to investigate the determinants of stock market integration. This book will prove an ideal resource for postgraduate students, researches, scholars, policy makers and regulatory authorities interested in financial market integration.
-
© 2014,This book discusses the issues of integration within food and fibre supply chains and the challenges in managing price risk. The problems of integration and price risk are interwoven in agricultural supply chains with production and supply risk as well as hoarding. However, without supply chain integration through commercial trade markets there can be no forward market upon which forward transactions and the management of price risk can be based. Without a forward market that can reduce opportunistic behaviour, there is likely to be little security of supply, particularly under high production risk and price uncertainty. Whilst price risk management is possible under certain circumstances, there are many factors that can prevent the development of forward markets or cause them to collapse, thus undermining the ability to manage price risk within acceptable risk and return parameters. Market positions therefore need to be valued and often settled daily due to the risk of contract default. In addition, the issue of currency risk and its management applies to international market positions and transactional exposures. The book analyses a range of price risk management strategies from forward contracting through to futures and options hedging, and finally to over-the-counter products. Evaluation techniques are developed to aid decision-making. The author concludes that forward market development may be the exception rather than the norm, and that whilst favourable price risk management outcomes may be possible, they can sometimes be caused more by luck than through good management. It is shown how tactics are an important consideration in decision-making to minimize costs and losses.
-
© 2014,An outline of the core principles and strategies required to restore the credibility of the global finance industry Since 2008, the global financial industry has lurched from crisis to crisis, calamity to calamity, resulting in an epic loss of public trust in banking and financial institutions. Rebuilding Trust in Banks argues that this series of disasters have usually been the result failures of leadership and governance, combined with unenforced systems of checks and balances. Often, leaders lose their way, believing their own hype and buying into their own propaganda. The more successful these leaders are initially the greater their self-confidence grows along with the certainty that they're right. The result is a dangerous hubris with no countervailing power to stop or change reckless, unethical, or self-interested strategies. This book offers a solution, with useful benchmarks for corporate governance and a global perspective. Features effective best practices for ensuring good corporate governance and responsible leadership in banking and finance Written by a renowned expert in corporate governance with more than 40 years of experience, particularly in Asia Intended for corporate leaders and board members in financial companies, as well as regulators, advisors, and students If banks and other financial institutions truly want to rebuild the trust they once enjoyed, this practical and prescriptive guide offers effective best practices that can--and should--be widely implemented throughout the industry.
-
© 2014,A little book full of enormous value for novices and seasoned venture capitalists alike After having been thrown for a loop by the bursting of the tech bubble more than a decade ago, the venture capital industry suddenly has come roaring back to life over the past two years. In 2011 alone, more than $7.5 billion in venture capital was invested--representing more than a 19% increase over the previous year--in more than 966 companies. A majority of these companies reside in the life sciences, Internet, and alternative energy sectors. In today's weak job market, VC is more important than ever, since financing new tech, alternative energy, media, and other small to mid-sized companies is vital to creating new jobs. Written by Lou Gerken, a noted international authority on venture capital and alternative investments, this book tells you everything you need to know about the venture capital industry's important role in enhancing economic growth and employment. It is also the perfect go to primer on making venture capital investments to enhance portfolio returns. Highly accessible explanations of the ins and outs of venture capital for would-be investors and experienced VCs Highlights the historical VC track record, and offers expert advice and guidance on venture capital exposure, investment options, sourcing opportunities and due diligence Provides proven strategies for successful investment selection, timing, monitoring, and exiting for optimum returns Features endorsements from luminaries of the VC world, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers co-founder Frank Caulfield, and Dr. Art Laffer, among others
-
© 2014,Flash Boys is about a small group of Wall Street guys who figure out that the U.S. stock market has been rigged for the benefit of insiders and that, post-financial crisis, the markets have become not more free but less, and more controlled by the big Wall Street banks. Working at different firms, they come to this realization separately; but after they discover one another, the flash boys band together and set out to reform the financial markets. This they do by creating an exchange in which high-frequency trading--source of the most intractable problems--will have no advantage whatsoever.The characters in Flash Boys are fabulous, each completely different from what you think of when you think "Wall Street guy." Several have walked away from jobs in the financial sector that paid them millions of dollars a year. From their new vantage point they investigate the big banks, the world's stock exchanges, and high-frequency trading firms as they have never been investigated, and expose the many strange new ways that Wall Street generates profits.The light that Lewis shines into the darkest corners of the financial world may not be good for your blood pressure, because if you have any contact with the market, even a retirement account, this story is happening to you. But in the end, Flash Boys is an uplifting read. Here are people who have somehow preserved a moral sense in an environment where you don't get paid for that; they have perceived an institutionalized injustice and are willing to go to war to fix it.
-
© 2014,Becoming a young Wall Street banker is like pledging the world's most lucrative and soul-crushing fraternity. Every year, thousands of eager college graduates are hired by the world's financial giants, where they're taught the secrets of making obscene amounts of money-- as well as how to dress, talk, date, drink, and schmooze like real financiers. YOUNG MONEY Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Post-Crash Recruits YOUNG MONEY is the inside story of this well-guarded world. Kevin Roose, New York magazine business writer and author of the critically acclaimed The Unlikely Disciple , spent more than three years shadowing eight entry-level workers at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and other leading investment firms. Roose chronicled their triumphs and disappointments, their million-dollar trades and runaway Excel spreadsheets, and got an unprecedented (and unauthorized) glimpse of the financial world's initiation process. Roose's young bankers are exposed to the exhausting workloads, huge bonuses, and recreational drugs that have always characterized Wall Street life. But they experience something new, too: an industry forever changed by the massive financial collapse of 2008. And as they get their Wall Street educations, they face hard questions about morality, prestige, and the value of their work. YOUNG MONEY is more than an exposé of excess; it's the story of how the financial crisis changed a generation-and remade Wall Street from the bottom up.
-
© 2012,A detailed look at the role of social responsibility in finance and investing The concept of socially responsible finance and investing continues to grow, especially in the wake of one of the most devastating financial crises in history. This includes responsibility from the corporate side (corporate social responsibility) as well as the investor side (socially responsible investing) of the capital markets. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Socially Responsible Finance and Investing offers an important basis of knowledge regarding both the theory and practice of this ever-evolving area of finance. As part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance, this book showcases contributed chapters from professionals and academics with extensive expertise on this particular subject. It provides a comprehensive view of socially responsible foundations and their applications to finance and investing as determined by the current state of research. Discusses many important issues associated with socially responsible finance and investing, like moral hazard and the concept of "too big to fail" Contains contributed chapters from numerous thought-leaders in the field of finance Presents comprehensive coverage starting with the basics and bringing you through to cutting-edge, current theory and practice Now more than ever, we need to be mindful of the social responsibilities of all investment practices. The recent financial crisis and recession has changed the financial landscape for years to come and Socially Responsible Finance and Investing is a timely guide to help us navigate this difficult terrain.
-
© 2013,The market for retirement financial advice has never been more important and yet more in flux. The long-term shift away from traditional defined benefit pensions toward defined contribution personal accounts requires all of us to be more sophisticated today than ever before. However, thelandscape for financial advice is changing all over the world, with new rules and regulations transforming the financial advice profession. This volume explores the market for retirement financial advice, to explain what financial advisors do and how to measure performance and impact. Who are these professionals and what standards must they abide by? How do they make money and what are their incentives? How can one protect clients frombad advice, and what is good advice? Does advice alone effect changes in personal habits? Answering these questions, along with new technology that will decrease the delivery costs of advice, will play a transformative role in helping more households receive the quality financial advice that theyneed. Accordingly, this volume illuminates the market and regulatory challenges so as to enhance consumer, plan sponsor, and regulator decisions.
-
© 2013,'Hans Visser's book is a clear, concise and well-organized introduction to Islamic finance. This second edition not only updates the original work, but provides a much more detailed treatment of the forms of Islamic finance. the controversies surrounding many Islamic financial contracts are explained in a refreshingly objective manner. the disadvantages as well as the advantages of Islamic finance are candidly addressed. the book is highly recommended for postgraduates taking Islamic finance courses, as well as for financial professionals seeking to broaden their knowledge.' - Rodney Wilson, Durham University, UK
-
© 2014,Using simple but rigorously defined mathematical models, Thomas Quint and Martin Shubik explore monetary control in a simple exchange economy. Examining how money enters, circulates, and exits an economy, they consider the nature of trading systems and the role of government authority in the exchange of consumer goods for storable money; exchanges made with durable currency, such as gold; fiat currency, which is flexible but has no consumption value; conditions under which borrowers can declare bankruptcy; and the distinctions between individuals who lend their own money, and financiers, who lend others'.
-
© 2013,Monetary Policy and the Onset of the Great Depression challenges Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz's now-consensus view that the high tide of the Federal Reserve System in the 1920s was due to the leadership skills of Benjamin Strong, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In this new work, Toma develops a self-regulated model of the Federal Reserve, which stands in contrast to a conventional discretionary model. Given the easy redemption of dollars for gold and the competition amongReserve banks, the self-regulated model implies that the early Fed could control neither the money supply nor the price level. Exploiting an untapped data set, later chapters test the thesis of self-regulation by focusing on the monetary decisions of individual Reserve banks.The micro-based evidence indicates that "Reserve banks really did compete" - and that Benjamin Strong as decisive leader during the 1920s is a myth. This finding, with its emphasis on monetary policy in the years leading up to the Great Depression, will be of interest to scholars, students, and sophisticated lay readers with an interest in macroeconomic and monetary economic policy issues, specifically to those with an interest in economic history.