Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World

An engaging look at how modern finance almost destroyed our global economy Over the last thirty years, capital markets have been restructured through the tenets of modern finance. This has been enormously profitable for the financial services sector. However, these innovations, coupled with unsound risk and regulatory practices have proved disastrous for the global economy. In a clear and accessible style, ex-investment banker and financial journalist Martin Hutchinson, and highly respected academic, Kevin Dowd show how modern finance combined with easy money threatened to bring down the world financial system. At the heart of the book is modern finance as a U.S. invention, the theories and practices associated with them, and the changes they made in business models and risk management on Wall Street and other major financial centers. Breaks down the events involved in the 2007-08 financial collapse Reveals how botched policy response made a bad situation worse Focuses on lessons that the practice of finance must learn from recent events The Alchemists of Loss will help you to understand how our financial system crashed and show you what it will take to make sure this won't happen again as we move forward.

A behind-the-scenes look at Wall Street's top banker Following the eleventh-hour rescue of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon's profile reached stratospheric levels. And while the deals and decisions he's made have usually turned out to be the right ones, his journey to the top of the financial world has been anything but easy. Now, in The House of Dimon, former business journalist Patricia Crisafulli goes behind the scenes to recount the amazing events that have shaped Dimon's career, from his rise to prominence as Sandy Weill's protŽgŽ at Citigroup to the drama surrounding his purchase of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. Each step of the way, this engaging book provides insider accounts of how Dimon successfully acquired and integrated companies, created efficiencies, and grew bottom-line results as the consummate hands-on manager. Includes interviews with Dimon himself, Sandy Weill, and colleagues who've known Dimon over the course of his career Shows how Dimon's management style and talent for taking calculated risks have allowed him to excel where many others have failed Places Dimon in the context of contemporary Wall Street, an environment that has destroyed several top CEOs During one of the most difficult and tumultuous periods in Wall Street history, Jamie Dimon has survived and thrived. The House of Dimon reveals how he's done it and explores what lies ahead for Dimon, as he attempts to grow JPMorgan in the face of the unrelenting pressures of Wall Street.

The fascinating story behind the company that revolutionized the financial world Catching Lightning in a Bottle traces the complete history of Merrill Lynch and the company's substantial impact on the world of finance, from the birth of the once-mighty company to its inauspicious end. Throughout its ninety-four year history, Merrill Lynch revolutionized finance by bringing Wall Street to Main Street, operating under a series of guidelines known as the Principles. These values allowed the company to gain the trust of small investors by putting the clients' interests first, driving a business trajectory that expanded capital markets and fueled the growth of the American post-war economy. Written by the son of Merrill Lynch co-founder Winthrop H. Smith, this book describes the creation and evolution of the company from Charlie Merrill's one-man shop in 1914 to its acquisition by Bank of America in 2008. Author Winthrop H. Smith Jr. spent twenty-eight years at the company his father co-founded, bringing a unique perspective to bear in telling the story of the company that democratized the stock market and eventually fell from its lofty perch. Learn why the industry initially scoffed at Charles Merrill's «radical» investment ideas Discover the origin of the Principles, and how they drove operations for nearly a century Find out why the author left a successful Wall Street career, and why it was such a smart move Examine the culture and values that built Merrill Lynch into one of the world's most successful and respected companies Revolutionary vision is rare, and enduring success is even more so. When a single organization demonstrates both of those characteristics, it is felt throughout the world. Discover the fascinating story behind Merrill Lynch and the men who built it from an insider's perspective in Catching Lightning in a Bottle.

A timely guide to uncovering financial fraud 2008 and 2009 will be remembered for bear markets, a global credit crunch, and some of the largest investment scams ever. But these scams are nothing new, they've been repeated throughout history, and there will certainly be more to come. But the good news is fraudsters often follow the same basic playbook. Learn the playbook, and know how to ask the right questions, and financial fraud can be easy to detect and simple to avoid. In How to Smell a Rat, trusted financial expert Ken Fisher provides you with an inside's view on how to spot financial disasters before you become a part of them. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this reliable resource takes an engaging look at recent and historic examples of fraudsters, how they operated, and how they can be easily avoided. Fisher also shows you the quick, identifiable features of financial frauds and arms you with the questions to ask when assessing a money manager. Prepares you to identify and avoid financials cams that could instantly destroy your wealth Contains examples that highlight how financial frauds are committed Provides questions everyone should ask before entering any investment endeavor With How to Smell a Rat as your guide, you'll learn how to protect your interests and assets from unnecessary losses.

Looking at a range of themes and regions, this book provides a challenging basis for rethinking America’s international leadership. Chatham House experts assess current US policy and the country’s ability to continue to play an international leading role. A timely exploration as President Barack Obama attempts to renew America’s global leadership. Broad range of contributors including Annette Bohr (Central Asia), Victor Bulmer-Thomas (Latin America), Alex Vines and Tom Cargill (Sub-Saharan Africa), Paul Cornish (Arms control), Paola Subacchi (Economics), Kerry Brown (China) and James Sherr (Russia).

The updated new edition of the comprehensive guide to reading and understanding financial reports Financial reports are used to provide a range of vital information, including an organization’s cash flow, financial condition, and profit performance (aka The Big Three Financial Statements). Financial statements are often complex and extremely difficult to understand for anyone other than accounting and finance professionals. How to Read a Financial Report enablesinvestors, lenders, business leaders, analysts, and managers to read, analyze, and interpret financial accounting reports. Designed specifically for non-specialists, this reader-friendly resource covers the fundamentals of financial reporting in jargon-free English. Topics such as sales revenue & recognition, costs of goods sold, sources & uses of capital/cash, non-cash expenses (e.g., depreciation expense), income tax obligations, understanding profits & financial stability, and financial statement ratios & analysis are covered throughout the book. Now in its ninth edition, this bestselling guide has been thoroughly revised to reflect changes in accounting and financial reporting rules, current practices, and recent trends. New and expanded content explains managing cash flow, illustrates the deceitful misrepresentation of profits in some financial reports (aka Financial Engineering), and more. Further, end-of-chapter activities help readers learn the intricacies of the balance sheet and cash flow statement, while updated sections address shifts in regulatory standards. Written by two highly experienced experts in financial accounting, this resource:  Enables readers to cut through the noise and focus on what financial reports and financial statements are really saying about a company Clarifies commonly misunderstood aspects of financial reporting and how companies can “financially engineer” operating results Offers comprehensive, step-by-step guidance on analyzing financial reports Provides numerous examples and explanations of various types of financial reports and analysis tools

EconoPower will provide you with a firm understanding of the influence of modern economics and how it can be used to improve the world we live in. It offers practical advice on numerous personal financial matters—earning, saving, investing, and retiring—based on the breakthrough contributions of behavioral economists. And it looks at how economists are working successfully on issues such as public education, crime, and global warming. EconoPower also examines how a new economic philosophy may dominate the new millennium.

A comprehensive guide to reading and understanding financial reports Financial reports provide vital information to investors, lenders, and managers. Yet, the financial statements in a financial report seem to be written in a foreign language that only accountants can understand. This comprehensive version of How to Read a Financial Report breaks through that language barrier, clears away the fog, and offers a plain-English user's guide to financial reports. The book features new information on the move toward separate financial and accounting reporting standards for private companies, the emergence of websites offering financial information, pending changes in the auditor's report language and what this means to investors, and requirements for XBRL tagging in reporting to the SEC, among other topics. Makes it easy to understand what financial reports really say Updated to include the latest information financial reporting standards and regulatory changes Written by an author team with a combined 50-plus years of experience in financial accounting This comprehensive edition includes an ancillary website containing valuable additional resources With this comprehensive version of How to Read a Financial Report, investors will find everything they need to fully understand the profit, cash flow, and financial condition of any business.

Bestselling author and professor Ted Malloch calls for real financial reform to restore confidence and fairness to a broken system From Ponzi schemes to the credit crisis to the real estate bubble, the financial industry seems to have lost its way on the road to riches. As private greed continues to undermine the public good, one might wonder what ever happened to business ethics. And how can we reform the global financial system to benefit everyone, rather than just the very lucky few? In The End of Ethics and the Way Back, the bestselling author of Doing Virtuous Business teams up with attorney and Yale University Postdoctoral Fellow, Jordan Mamorsky to examine the most recent failures of business virtue, prudence, and governance—from Bernie Madoff to Jon Corzine and MF Global—before offering a set of structural and holistic solutions for our current ethical crisis in global finance. Features compelling case studies that reveal the saturation of economic vice in global finance Suggests structural reforms to the global financial system that would increase confidence among consumers and encourage ethical behavior among finance professionals Written by Ted Malloch, author of the bestseller Doing Virtuous Business with attorney Jordan Mamorsky Ideal for financial regulators, business students and academics, and professionals in the finance industry

An in-depth look at the failure of Wall Street's «proven» financial models Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into intricate and aesthetically attractive shapes. As such, it is the perfect metaphor for the Wall Street financial engineering model, which ultimately proved to be the underlying cause of the 2008 financial crisis. In Financial Origami, Brendan Moynihan describes how the Wall Street business model evolved from a method to transfer risk into a method for manufacturing risk. Along the way, this timely book skillfully dissects financial engineering and addresses how it's often a mechanism to evade regulatory constraints, provide institutional investors with customized products, and, of course, generate revenue for financial engineers. Reveals how Wall Street's financial engineering business model morphed into something destructive Highlights how the origami model worked well in the comparatively stable years of the early 2000s, when there was less risk to transfer Discusses how Wall Street began manufacturing risk by creating products that multiplied risk exposures and encouraged subprime lending With the collapse of Lehman Brother the Wall Street business model effectively broke. But there are many lessons to be learned from what has transpired, and Financial Origami will show you what they are.