Book Description
Where does money come from? Where does it go? Who makes it? The money magicians' secrets are unveiled. We get a close look at their mirrors and smoke machines, their pulleys, cogs, and wheels that create the grand illusion called money. A dry and boring subject? Just wait! You'll be hooked in five minutes. Reads like a detective story — which it really is. But it's all true. This book is about the most blatant scam of all history. It's all here: the cause of wars, boom-bust cycles, inflation, depression, prosperity. Creature from Jekyll Island will change the way you view the world, politics, and money. Your world view will definitely change. You'll never trust a politician again — or a banker.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-10-02
This book is not main stream. Its critics would probably call it the radical theories of a "gold bug". A more "establishment" answer to the criticisms brought up in this book can be found in Galbraith's - Money, From Whence It Came and Where It Went.
This book is structured very well. It is easy to read and very persuasive but if you are like me, after you finish this book you will have more questions than you have answers.
The book makes some good points on the other hand it promotes many fantasies.
Mr. Griffin could be right on many things but his answers for the most part would not make things better - but worse in my opinion.
The solution to the MONEY problem are more complicated than the answers that are supplied here. This book is a good book to buy and to read but one must read it very critically - very critically.
Fearfully Factual - Wholly Horrific.......2007-04-22
If you, like me, believe that the truth doesn't always makes sense, but the WHOLE TRUTH usually does, then you will appreciate and value this well researched, carefully written work by G.E. Griffin. Even so, this is just the tip of a much bigger iceberg, but for anyone who wants to know why the working class has to work so hard, just to go backwards, you will find out a very definitive answer in this book. This book is a must have for any TRUTH SEEKER fighting for facts in an age of profiteering deceipt. If you are new to economics, please read "Whatever Happened To Penny Candy" by Richard J. Maybury and Jane A. Williams first and you will know more than than most politicians. Griffins other book, "A World Without Cancer" is equally as researched, informative, and important.
Even a beginner can understand.......2007-04-04
When I first read this book - I had only just begun looking at the banking system and how it worked. My knowledge extended a bit past CNBC - but not much. I found it understandable and enjoyable. Since my original read (about 3 years ago) I have read it again and bought a second copy to loan out - I don't want to lose my original. I'm not sure Joe Average could simply pick it up and be enthralled, but if you have an interest in the banking system - this is a great book - even if you have little background in the subject.
The Matrix .......2007-03-17
AFTER READING THIS BOOK YOU WILL HEAR DISCUSSIONS ON TALK SHOWS, ARTICLES IN THE PAPERS AND YOU'LL LISTEN TO THE RHETORIC BANTERED BACK AND FORTH AMONG PEOPLES TRYING TO GRASP "WHY THINGS ARE HAPPENING THE WAY THEY ARE". WHY DO BANKS GET INVOLVED IN APPROVING HOME LOANS ON OVER VALUED PROPERTY...KNOWING FORECLOSURES WILL SOON SKYROCKET? WHY DOES THE US SELL WEAPON TECHONOLOGY TO COUNTRIES THAT, WE CITIZENS ARE TOLD, ARE PROBLEM COUNTRIES? WHY HAS THE CIA TRAINED FOREIGN BORN INDIVIDUALS, SUCH AS, BIN LADEN AND OTHERS KNOWING FULL WELL WHAT THEY ARE ALL ABOUT? THE MEDIA REPORTS EVENTS AND WE ASSUME THAT IT IS TRUE...THAT IT REPRESENTS REALITY. BUT, THIS BOOK WILL TELL YOU WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON. THEN YOU WILL REALIZE HOW FOOLISH WE ARE TO LIVE IN THIS "WORLD OF MAKE BELIEVE" THAT THE MEDIA HAS CREATED FOR US.
Should be required reading.......2007-03-06
You can read the other reviews for synopsis and overviews. This is a must read and should be required reading for all Americans. It is a well researched and footnoted exposition on the Federal Reserve and far more. Griffin goes into fascinating asides regarding the origins of money and banking and the ways that bankers have instigated wars while supporting both sides. This book should be of great interest to those who enjoy either history, finance, foreign affairs, mystery or politics and answers many questions as to why the "world" is as it is today. The first 50 pages are a little slow and then it reads like a detective novel. It could even be argued that it's one's duty to read this book.
Book Description
Written by Kathy Lien—chief strategist for the number one online currency broker in the world—Day Trading the Currency Market reveals a variety of technical and fundamental profit-making strategies for trading the currency market, and provides a detailed look at how this market actually works. It contains actionable information and strategies, which can help you enter this highly competitive arena with confidence and exit with profits.
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""This is an extraordinary book that is many levels above other books on currency trading. It's filled with practical tips deriving from Kathy's experiences as a trader at JPMorgan and as an analyst and educator to online traders. A must-read for novice and experienced traders alike, this book will save readers a lot of money in expensive trading lessons."" --Drew Niv, Chief Executive Officer, Forex Capital Markets LLC ""I thought this was one of the best books that I had read on FX. The book should be required reading not only for traders new to the foreign exchange markets, but also for seasoned professionals. I'll definitely be keeping it on my desk for reference. ""The book is very readable and very educational. In fact, I wish that Kathy's book had been around when I had first started out in FX. It would have saved me from a lot of heartache from reading duller books, and would have saved me a lot of time from having to learn things the 'hard way'. ""I look forward to reading other books from her in the future."" --Farooq Muzammal, Head of Foreign Exchange, Europe, Refco ""Kathy's book is an indispensible tool for Forex traders, whether you are a professional or novice. It not only lays the groundwork for an in-depth understanding of Forex trading, it also contains numerous fundamental and technical strategies . . . I suspect that many traders will be keeping Kathy's book within arm's reach for many years to come."" --Eddie Kwong, Executive V.P./Editor in Chief, Tradingmarkets.com ""There are aspects to trading currencies that are different from trading equities, options, or futures. In this book Kathy Lien gives a deep insight into all the mechanisms that take place in the currency markets. Any currency trader will gain more confidence in their trading after reading this book."" --Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan, Editor, Stocks & Commodities magazine ""Kathy has done a brilliant job with this book. She speaks directly to traders and gives them guidance to improve their performance as Forex traders. I took some notes and ideas from the book myself that are going to be very useful for my business."" --Francesc Riverola, CEO, ForexStreet SL Discover a variety of technical and fundamental profit-making strategies for trading the currency market with Kathy Lien, the Chief Currency Strategist at Forex Capital Markets LLC (FXCM). Lien describes everything from time-tested technical and fundamental strategies you can use to compete with bank traders to a host of more fundamentally-oriented strategies involving intermarket relationships, interest rate differentials, option volatility, news events, and central bank intervention.
Customer Reviews:
Superficial at best..........2007-08-08
I just finished reading this book and after reading more than a dozen of books on forex and day trading I must say the book is a waste of money. Most of the topics in the book are covered superficially and the few trading strategies presented are poorly documented and contain errors.
Not so useful!.......2007-07-15
In my search for good FX trading books, I found no good book yet, and this book is no exception. This book is poorly written, has no consistent flow, and it does not lead the reader anywhere. Just few areas I found somewhat interesting like correlation between pairs, and volatility as a function of time of the day, and that is why I gave it a rating of 2. Otherwise, 1 will be enough. Someday someone may write a good FX trading book that really respects the intelligence of the reader. Not all FX retail traders are losers!
Superb resource for all active forex traders - highly recommended!.......2007-06-04
Kathy Lien has written one of the most important "must have" books for active forex traders with "Day Trading the Currency Market".
Packed with practical insights and solid trading setups, she's written a superb book that's packed with useful trading how-tos, from one of the most respected forex authorities found.
Specifically, I found her correlation tables and volatility indices very valuable, as well as her step by step explanations of how to look for both fundamental as well as technical market-moving patterns. I'm recommending her book to all my Forex traders on my forexonfire dot com site, as excellent resources to own.
Additonally, she's provided superb explanations of how the mechanics of currency trading works, and the impact of various market opens, when and how to trade various technical chart patterns, and much more.
This book, along with Boris Schlossberg's excellent "Technical Analysis of the Currency Market", are the two best forex books on the market and are highly recommended.
Good trading,
Ken Calhoun
ForexOnFire
great starter must have.......2007-05-19
great book i used it always when i first entered forex, and still do. lots of knowledge and wisdow. not to mention it teachs you some stratagies.lots of books say they show you stratagies, but few deliver. this is one of them that does. this book was recommended to me as intermediate but i think it is a must have beginners guide, worth 4 of my beginners guide books.
Close to Ideal, Casi Perfecto.......2007-01-18
A lot a very important information for beginers and medium traders.
It is very complete from the fundamental view, has a couple a trading thechniques that I guess that works in real trading.
Overall great book!.More than I expected!
To be perfect She must write down more techniques to trade.
Is not nice the advertisement that she perform a long the book, due to the fact that the "Real & Good" information that she mention is not free in fxcm.
Finally read this book definitelly made me a better trader!!!.
Un monton de informacion muy importante para Traders principiantes y medios.
Es muy completo desde el punto de vista fundamental y tiene varias tecnicas de trading que al parecer funcionan en el trading real.
En general un gran libro,Mas de lo que esperaba!
Para ser perfecto ella tendria que haber escrito mas tecnicas de trading.
No es agradable la publicidad que le hace a FXCM a lo largo de todo el libro ya que las herramientas "Buenas y reales" no son gratis en FXCM.
Finalmente leer este libro me hizo un mejor trader!!!
Saludos
Muchas gracias Lien !
Book Description
"An inspired, utterly fascinating book….A book for everyone who would like to make the world a better place."—Jane Goodall
This unique and fundamentally liberating book shows us that examining our attitudes toward money—earning it, spending it, and giving it away—can offer surprising insight into our lives, our values, and the essence of prosperity.
Lynne Twist, a global activist and fundraiser, has raised more than $150 million for charitable causes. Through personal stories and practical advice, she demonstrates how we can replace feelings of scarcity, guilt, and burden with experiences of sufficiency, freedom, and purpose. In this Nautilus Award-winning book, Twist shares from her own life, a journey illuminated by remarkable encounters with the richest and poorest, from the famous (Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama) to the anonymous but unforgettable heroes of everyday life.
Customer Reviews:
Powerful! Very inspiring! .......2007-01-31
A whole new way to look not just at money, but at life itself! Worth reading over and over again!
Read this book.......2007-01-24
Well worth the effort in trying to get this book - a very forward thinker and ideas are articulated well. The world needs more thinking like this.
HAVE MORE, GIVE MORE MONEY - read this to find out how!.......2006-10-10
It one delightful, entertaining and meaningful book, Lynne Twist explains how to lead an abundant life that benefits you, your family AND the world. I read the hardcover edition more than three years and am still benefitting from it today. If this book were required reading, the world would be a place that works for everyone.
Book Description
This text gives students a unique understanding of the dynamic and evolving nature of the financial system and how it is related to the aggregate economy. It emphasizes the effects of structural change, globalization, financial innovation, and technology on the financial environment. Its highly applied, roots-in-reality approach incorporates numerous real-world applications and Internet features to demonstrate the relevance of topics. The text is written in an informal, conversational style, avoiding complex models and high-level math, making it perfect for the typical business major who may or may not have a strong economics background.
Book Description
Stephen Cecchetti’s new text on Money and Banking offers a fresh, more modern, and more student-friendly approach to the subject. The author has drawn on his vast experience as Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, publishing in and editing various journals, and consulting for the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Israel, and the Reserve Bank of Australia as well as his years of teaching at various schools including Ohio State, Brandeis, Princeton, and Oxford University. Students will find the material more relevant and interesting because of the book’s unique emphasis on the Five Core Principles, the early introduction of risk, and an integrated global perspective. Cecchetti is THE money and banking book for today’s students; by focusing on the big picture via core principles, Cecchetti teaches students the rationale for financial rules and institutional structure so that even when the financial system evolves, students’ knowledge will not be out of date.
Customer Reviews:
Macroeconomics As Seen From The Fed .......2006-05-28
This is an excellent undergraduate text on financial institutions and monetary economics. The exposition is rigorous yet avoids abstruse math. The best part is the section on monetary economics, where the author dispenses with IS/LM analysis and instead directly analyzes aggregate supply and demand. He writes from the perspective of a central banker (which he was), showing how central banks use interest rates to influence inflation and output. The writing is quite clear, and the numerous sidebars on historical and contemporary issues are excellent. Although some subjects (such as exchange rates) could have been developed in greater depth, this is a great textbook overall.
Ideological footnote: Many undergraduate econ books assume (more or less explicitly) that disturbances in the macroeconomy are eventually self-correcting. This book has a somewhat different starting place: it takes it for granted that regulators will oversee the banking system and that central bankers will act to close output gaps and keep inflation under control (in fact, the latter assumption is built into the author's construction of the aggregate demand curve). According to the author, modern central banks have developed a fairly good understanding of business cycles and know how to moderate them through the use of monetary instruments. Let's hope he's right.
Well written and with clarity.......2005-08-08
I've read the books of Mishkin and Hubbard, also well written pieces.
However, Cecchetti seems to be able to explain concepts with more clarity and in a way that makes one remember the various theories long after reading the book.
He should try to develop further the chapter on futures and give more emphasis on hedging, since this is the trend financial markets are moving towards these days, without having to impinge on books devoted solely to the topic.
He may also want to expound more on the chapter covering foreign exchange and international markets, to make the book more relevant to international readers.
on the chapter on monetary policy, since he touched on foreign central banks he may also wish to write about how other countries implement monetary policy, esp how the Bank of England uses the repo market to conduct money easing/contraction.
Am looking forward to a much-improved version in the future.
Book Description
The credit derivatives market is booming and, for the first time, expanding into the banking sector which previously has had very little exposure to quantitative modeling. This phenomenon has forced a large number of professionals to confront this issue for the first time. Credit Derivatives Pricing Models provides an extremely comprehensive overview of the most current areas in credit risk modeling as applied to the pricing of credit derivatives. As one of the first books to uniquely focus on pricing, this title is also an excellent complement to other books on the application of credit derivatives. Based on proven techniques that have been tested time and again, this comprehensive resource provides readers with the knowledge and guidance to effectively use credit derivatives pricing models. Filled with relevant examples that are applied to real-world pricing problems, Credit Derivatives Pricing Models paves a clear path for a better understanding of this complex issue.
Dr. Philipp J. Schönbucher is a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, and has degrees in mathematics from Oxford University and a PhD in economics from Bonn University. He has taught various training courses organized by ICM and CIFT, and lectured at risk conferences for practitioners on credit derivatives pricing, credit risk modeling, and implementation.
Customer Reviews:
read this before going for it.......2007-04-25
The book covers the basics of credit risk modeling and derivative pricing (both structural and intensity type of models), explained in a clear style with enough detail to enable implementation (a rarity in financial literature!). Basics of the theory of stochastic processes and risk-neutral pricing are also covered. Calibration methods for the models are clearly explained. Due to the limited scope, some topics are given only cursory coverage (Copula function methods, role of interest-rates models etc.), but even then, enough references are provided. A very useful, concisely written tome!
Very bad presentation. I was bored to death before I finished the first 20 pages.......2007-04-16
The author should rewrite this book. The presentation and organisation are terrible. Often you will see formulas come out without an explanation.
Would definitely not recommend it.
Grab any papers wrote by the market-practitioners, you will find they are much easier for you to understand the concepts of various credit derivatives models than the book could.
BTW, I wrote a negative review in amazon.co.uk, but was deleted twice.
excellent book but hard to understand.......2006-11-11
The book is written by a Professor in a insightful way.
The reader needs to be well prepared in knowledge, and be ready for frustration.
Excellent intermediate book.......2005-10-20
The book is a look at credit risk through the glasses of mathematics, and is not a beginner's book. It is a bit dry in the beginning, yet after that I discovered lots of valuable intuitive explanations. While it does require a certain level of probability knowledge, the author walks you through most necessary steps for the presented models. The book covers almost everything needed for an intermediate course on credit modelling. The lack of numerical implementation menthods took the last star.
Amongst the best of a bad lot.......2004-06-09
The state of theory is in such tremendous flux at present with a majority of research unpublished and a growing consensus that the state of the art is entirely inadequate. No book could possibly please industry researchers at this point, but Philipp contributes some ideas and clarification here and there and some leads which are valuable. He is perhaps a little dismissive and pessimistic when the theory wanders into hard mathematical problems, and to to a large extent his book ends where the fun stuff begins. Nontheless I would recommend, especially to those entering the field.
Book Description
An authoritative, in-depth guide to all aspects of credit analysis from the experts at Standard & Poor's
Credit analysis--gauging an issuer's ability to repay interest and principal on a bond issue--plays an essential role in determining how bond issues are rated and priced. Fundamentals of Corporate Credit Analysis provides both analysts and investors with the practical, up-to-date information they need, backed by Standard & Poor's research, data, and experience, to properly assess the credit risk of virtually any entity.
Whether used as a handy all-in-one guide or as a comprehensive training tool, it will give anyone the knowledge and tools needed to dig beneath standard ratings and determine an organization's true creditworthiness.
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An authoritative, in-depth guide to all aspects of credit analysis from the experts at Standard & Poors
Credit analysis--gauging an issuer's ability to repay interest and principal on a bond issue--plays an essential role in determining how bond issues are rated and priced. Fundamentals of Corporate Credit Analysis provides both analysts and investors with the practical, up-to-date information they need, backed by Standard & Poor's research, data, and experience, to properly assess the credit risk of virtually any entity.
Whether used as a handy all-in-one guide or as a comprehensive training tool, it will give anyone the knowledge and tools needed to dig beneath standard ratings and determine an organization's true creditworthiness.
'
Customer Reviews:
read this before going for it.......2007-04-23
I did not like the book, since being in the industry for more than seven years i felt the book is basic. However it is a must read (Cover to Cover) for those who are in undergraduate in the field of risk management or finance. This books gives the introduction to financial model building. But this intro is so brief that it will be your imagination to make full use of it. However for new commers in this field or interested it is good to give it few hours.
A Definitive Book On Setting Corporate Analysis Policy.......2005-02-25
I had the pleasure of working with one of the authors 15 years ago. But don't let that sway you. I truly appreciate the scope and effort put into this book. We will use it as an outline for how our analysts should approach analyzing a credit. Chapter 3 alone is worth the price of admission as the authors list the elusive "qualitative" factors that go into a credit rating, beyond what the ratios tell you it should be. While the book barely scratches the surface of certain analytical methods (the Merton Model got 1/2 a page), and it is written more for the layman or student, I still learned many things. And I've been in the business 20+ years. The prior reviewer, and many others will say they wished they wrote this book. I will too. I even briefly started my own version recently. But I first turned to S&P's ratings criteria as an outline. As such, the right people wrote this book. The authors fully used the vast resources and data mining of S&P. This certainly feels like a team effort. The telecom analyst wrote a piece on the rapid decline of telecom credits in 2000-2002, and other professionals added real life examples. The book organizes itself in the top down approach to analysis. It starts with sovereign risk, then moves to industry, then company business/competitive risk. It then highlights the ratios to look for, and also gives data on seniority and recovery values for specific levels of debt. It then uses these tools to analyze a fictional company. It ends with case studies that cover M&A, sovereign risk and other topical reviews that act as a real life summary to what you just learned. Highly recommended. Well done.
Excellent Resource for Corporate Bankers & Credit Analysts.......2005-01-24
This book is long overdue. It typically takes a credit or corporate banking professional several years and several levels (analyst, senior analyst, associate/assistant vice president, and finally, vice president) to piece together the knowledge and analytical skills presented within this wonderful book. The book offers a comprehensive foundation in business, financial, and strategic analysis (among several other related topics) in a very easily digested and understood manner. I guess my only complaint is that I didn't have the opportunity to write it myself!! I would advise every credit or relationship management team leader to purchase this book for their entire team -- particularly for their analysts and associates (although... on second thought, perhaps everyone on the team should have a copy in their desk drawer.) Bottom line: Highly-recommended. AAA+++
Book Description
Today's most complete, up-to-date reference for controlling credit risk exposure of all types, in every environment
Measuring and Managing Credit Risk takes you far beyond the Basel guidelines to detail a powerful, proven program for understanding and controlling your firm’s credit risk. Providing hands-on answers on practical topics from capital management to correlations, and supporting its theories with up-to-the-minute data and insights, this authoritative book examines every key aspect of credit risk, including:
- Determinants of credit risk and pricing/spread implications
- Quantitative models for moving beyond Altman’s Z score to separate “good” borrowers from “bad”
- Key determinants of loss given default, and potential links between recovery rates and probabilities of default
- Measures of dependency including linear correlation, and the impact of correlation on portfolio losses
- A detailed review of five of today’s most popular portfolio models—CreditMetrics, CreditPortfolioView, Portfolio Risk Tracker, CreditRisk+, and Portfolio Manager
- How credit risk is reflected in the prices and yields of individual securities
- How derivatives and securitization instruments can be used to transfer and repackage credit risk
Today’s credit risk measurement and management tools and techniques provide organizations with dramatically improved strength and flexibility, not only in mitigating risk but also in improving overall financial performance. Measuring and Managing Credit Risk introduces and explores each of these tools, along with the rapidly evolving global credit environment, to provide bankers and other financial decision-makers with the know-how to avoid excessive credit risk where possible—and mitigate it when necessary.
Customer Reviews:
Must have for risk management.......2007-06-29
Yes, this is a must have. Written by S&P auther, it is the definitive guide, no question should be asked. cause they are credit king.
Many details on how to measure risk, quantitative methods in detail. Ideas and industry practice all in great detail. I could imagine some quants will use it as a cook book for their project.
overall, well written for easy read. both good for a glance at credit risk and for in depth learning of industry standard.
Most Appropriate for Basel II.......2005-09-08
If you are Banker/Banking Consultant then this book is the closest you will get to understanding Credit Risk from a Basel II perspective. Its clear & lucid style helped me understand the gamut of techniques used in Credit Risk Measurement. Unfortunately the Book does not get into the details of bulinding models so if your looking for a model building cookbook, look elsewhere.
a complete, robust and comprehensive valuable resource!.......2004-06-16
In Measuring and Managing Credit Risk, the authors provided a robust, complete and comprehensive treatment of several aspects of modern credit risk measurement and management. Written by two high talented practitioners, this book will become certainly a reference both for academics and practitioners thanks to its careful treatment of several not so known empirical issues which practitioners have to face everyday. At the same time, do not consider the book as a new recipes book for managing credit risk. Both authors already proved their deep knowledges of financial theory and establish once again, through this book, how advanced knowledges of theory combined with significant practical experience make leading researches. As a PhD candidate in Finance, actually writing on credit risk, I definitively adopted this book and higly recommend it for anyone dealing with credit risk issues either through a practical experience or through a theoritical work.
Book Description
Monetary Theory and Policy presents an advanced treatment of critical topics in monetary economics and the models economists use to investigate the interactions between real and monetary factors. It provides extensive coverage of general equilibrium models of money, models of the short-run real effects of monetary policy, and game-theoretic approaches to monetary policy. Among the topics covered are money-in-the-utility-function models, cash-in-advance models, money and public finance, the credit channel of money, models of time consistency, monetary policy operating procedures, and interest rates and monetary policy.
The book uses dynamic simulations to evaluate quantitatively the significance of the channels through which monetary policy and inflation affect the economy. It extensively examines modern approaches to monetary policy that stress the incentives facing central banks and the strategic interactions between central banks and the private sector. Where most treatments of monetary policy emphasize money supply control and money demand, this book focuses on the implications of interest rate control for monetary policy. The book is designed for advanced graduate students in monetary economics, economic researchers, and economists working in policy institutions and central banks.
This second edition includes new discussions of empirical evidence on the interest elasticity of money demand, the fiscal theory of the price level, the new Keynesian model, optimal policies in forward-looking models, stability and the Taylor principle, and open economy new Keynesian models. It also expands its coverage of multiple equilibria, the role of timing assumptions in cash-in-advance models, and the Ramsey approach to optimal monetary taxation. A new chapter treats policy analysis in new Keynesisan models; the discussion includes the derivation of the policy objective function, optimal commitment and discretionary outcome, targeting rules,and instrument rules.
Customer Reviews:
A not so enchanted point of view.......2007-08-19
If this book were a car, its selling would long have been forbidden! The "typos and corrections" offered by Carl E. Walsh's homepage have by now reached 10 pages. Chapter 6.5 "A Basic Open-Economy Model" has this way been completely revised by the maître. So, in case you are determined to read this book, start with a download of those typos and corrections! The publisher does not give the slightest hint of this problem within the book (Maybe, because the standard "errata-note" would have become an "errata-booklet"). This is really annoying, since you may lose a lot of time by trying to understand mathematical derivations, which are simply wrong. Weak consolation: the "typos and corrections" of Michael Woodford's supposed to be classic "Interest and Prices" sum up by now of 8 pages (Or should we say 38 pages, since "certain equations" of Woodford's chapter 5 are corrected in a separate paper? Unfortunately, I'm not kidding). However, Walsh's book does also suffer from contents-related problems: Throughout the book he derives all results based on the social planner solution of his models. He never even discusses the problem of this approach in the presence of the "wedge of inefficiency" that the usage of money can introduce in such models (Lucas, 1987, Models of Business Cycles). So after having yourself worked through Walsh's book and his typos and corrections, you cannot be sure that the conclusions and policy recommendations he draws will also hold for the market solution of his models.
One of the best books about Monetary Theory and Policy. .......2005-12-05
One of the best books about Monetary Theory and Policy.
Superb book, detailed and thorough.......2005-12-01
This great book helped me to get a better understanding of modern monetary theory, and so I thought I'd make a few comments on that, perhaps couched in easier to understand language and more mundane examples than in this much more sophisticated and technical book.
Basically, the question is what really is the value of money in a country's economy, and how do fluctuations in the value of the currency and the amount of the currency in circulation affect the overall economy? That might seem simple at first, but consider the following.
You may know the story of the hyperinflation that occurred in Germany in the post-WWII years. Germany was saddled with some serious war debts and reparations, and so the government started printing money in order to pay them off. There's even some suspicion that they did this deliberately in order to pay them off faster with inflated dollars, which royally annoyed the French, who were basically getting stiffed. Very sneaky, if true. And clever--if you can make it work. However, it's also very risky, because there are few things more ruinously inflationary than the government printing money, and eventually those pigeons usually come home to roost, which they did in the case of the German economy with a vengeance. So the situation got out of control, and soon it almost took wheelbarrows full of money to buy a loaf of bread.
However, the most interesting thing is how the German monetary authorities stopped the hyperinflation and got things back to normal. What they did was start buying back the worthless paper Deutschemarks with gold. This reduced the supply of Marks, and when people saw that they could get real gold for the paper money, they cashed in in droves. Eventually, the German Deutsche Bank, basically their Federal Reserve, pulled enough money out of circulation to get the inflation under control.
This brings up the interesting question of whether one needs gold backing for your currency. Well, in the modern world, it's no longer necessary, since countries like Japan have very little gold backing for their currency, and yet the Yen is one of the so-called "hard currencies." Contrast that with the former Soviet Union, which at least in the past had a lot of gold backing for their currency, and yet it wasn't worth much. What really determines the value of your currency in the modern international economy is it's value on the international monetary exchanges, which is basically what people will pay to buy it in order to buy your goods and exports and so on, and to do business with you, not how much gold backing it has.
But getting back to the German situation, something very similar happened here back in the early 80s when the prime interest rate hit 21%, because the government was printing money due to the Vietnam war and the deficit spending of the late 60's and 70's. With that level of inflation per year, funny things start happening. For example, it's in the interest of capital-intensive industries or businesses requiring large on-hand inventories-- such as retail stores or firms selling big-ticket equipment items and so on--to buy as much inventory as possible on credit, and then to pay the debt off with increasingly inflated dollars, which reduces your overall cost-- essentially, not so different from what the Germans were doing.
This might sound strange since you're talking about the "price" or cost of money and how inflation affects it, but inflation has the interesting effect of making future money payments less expensive to the borrower, so they have a vested interest in loading up on goods on credit and then paying it off over time. The longer the horizon or loan term the better they make out as long as inflation continues.
In other words, with inflation running at 21%, in two years, the business paying back the loan gets a 42% discount on their cost of capital, assuming the interest rate is fixed, which is usually the case in business loans or at least businesses with good credit. Of course, lenders such as banks and savings and loans know about these tricks but surprisingly, there's very little they can do to hedge and protect themselves. This is one reason so many savings and loans went out of business back in the 80's.
Now all of this might make inflation sound like the ultimate economic evil, but actually, and here's another odd fact about monetary economics--the reverse situation is actually worse--which is known as deflation. Recessions usually don't go into serious deflation, but a real bona fide depression will. This is what is really happening in a depression.
In the case of a serious depression or deflationary spiral, the money supply contracts to the point where the total amount of money circulating isn't enough to keep the economic wheels of the country greased and operating smoothly thru what is known as the bank reserve ratio and negative multiplier effect. In other words, there is a systemic shortage of liquidity. Unfortunately, this situation is extremely difficult to correct, much more so than the inflationary situation.
That's because with interest rates falling and/or very low, no-one has any incentive to lend dollars since, as in the case during the Great Depression, banks get their money from private depositors, and with banks failing, and interest rates at almost zero, no one has any incentive to put the money in the bank if the bank might fail, or if the business that took out the loan could go bankrupt and fail, as many do during depressions. So people stuff it in the proverbial mattress. Hence, there's no money to lend, and so businesses which depend on loans and outside financing (which is about 99% of big and medium size businesses in the U.S.) can't get the money to operate and the economy grinds to a standstill. The government can even print all the money it wants, but nothing happens, since the prime lenders don't want to borrow the money at the so-called Federal Reserve Discount Window and pass it on to borrowers and risk losing it for some measly return and interest rate. In other words, the risk/reward ratio just isn't worth it.
To give you a better perspective on this, I can give you a fascinating fact. The average person tends to think of the stock market as synonymous with the overall economy, because it gets all the press and publicity, and that's true to some extent, but the truth is the bond markets operating behind the scenes which get much less press and attention (well, bonds are pretty boring compared to stocks) are actually ten times the size of the stock market and have a much greater impact than even the stock market on the overall economy. With no money to lend for loans and bonds, the economy grinds to a stop, until someone like the government "primes the pump" to restart it, the policy mechanism that the great economist, John Maynard Keynes, became famous for explaining, among other things. That's what happened back in the 1930's, but we really had to wait for the huge government spending of WWII to turn the situation around.
So during deflation, money is tight and scarce, but the value of the currency keeps going up--just the reverse of inflation. So those who have money have more than they had before. But since deflation causes serious unemployment and underemployment and poverty, most people don't have excess dollars, so they're still poor. So you just can't win. That's why economics is sometimes called "the dismal science." :-)
If this all sounds strange, just think of what happens with a resource or a commodity when there's a shortage of supply--such as with oil right now--it goes up in price, right? That's just normal supply and demand. Same thing in deflation. With a shortage in the supply of greenbacks, the value goes up just like in the case of any material good, except it's confusing to think of lots of money causing a lack of purchasing power as in the case of inflation, and a lack of money creating more purchasing power as in the case of deflation. In practical terms, the dollar's worth more--but no-one is spending them! Hence, paradoxically, money is worth more in a stagnant economy where no one has any incentive to spend it. You might wonder how something can be worth more when no one wants it, since, in most cases, what determines the value of something is the demand for it, but this is where monetary theory parts with normal intuition and common sense about how supply and demand should work, and that's just the way it is.
Anyway, that's not a bad little summary of monetary economics. If you understand that you actually have most of the important points. As you can see, it's strange stuff in some ways, but fun once you get the hang of it since it is powerful and explains some puzzling issues.
Great Book.......2004-06-14
This book deals with most of the modern monetary theory issues. Eventhough it clearly says it is written for graduate students, undergraduate ones with good algebra and calculus levels could accomplish the basic acknowledgement of the book. The second edition has been improved a lot as I see it. Bonds have been added to the agent's budget constraint. This is very helpful for the interpretation of the first order conditions. Chapter 4, mainly the first part was rewritten in a most comprehensible way. There are a few things to highlight about the dark sides: In chapter 3, Professor Walsh did not include bonds in the budget constraint which would have been really useful. Besides there are a few mistakes in the appendix regarding the expected values. Chapter 7, "Macroeconomic Implications" is not very clear which assumptions have been made to approximate around the steady state. Despite there are still a few little mistakes, the book is excellent, I guess the best in Monetary Theory and Policy. Totally recommendable!!!
The best text on advanced macroeconomics there is........1999-12-08
This is the best book length treatment of the state of the art in academic thinking about inflation and central banking, a lot of what economics is about to lay people and politicians. While this is a graduate text in macroeconomics, in no way is it unnecessarily abtruse. You'll need to be comfortable with little more than algebra, linear difference equations, and the sort of elementary statistics practical economists do. Amazingly, this book has no obvious competitors because first rate economists wrongly disdain writing books.
Product Description
The most powerful case against the American central bank ever written. This work begins with a mini-treatment of money and banking theory, and then plunges right in with the real history of the Federal Reserve System. Rothbard covers the struggle between competing elites and how they converged with the Fed.
Rothbard calls for the abolition of the central bank and a restoration of the gold standard. His popular treatment incorporates the best and most up-to-date scholarship on the Fed's origins and effects.
Customer Reviews:
Simplistic and Embarassingly Ill-Informed.......2007-09-05
I cannot believe that this polemic of a book was written by an Economics Chair. It is full of misplaced invective, bad analogies, vapid arguments, circular logic and irrational assumptions.
Take Rothbard's argument that the Fed is an institutionalized counterfieter - taking over the "people's" role of issuing fiat money. In this case, he recognizes that the people would act through the government to print money - perhaps via the treasury rather than the Fed.
History has provided incredibly plentiful examples that a government, especially one trying to garner popular favor or pay off government debt, always gives in to the temptation to print more money to fund its programs and pay its debts. It is this behavior, of a hugely fiscally important central government, which leads most often to catestrophic inflation. If "the people" were able to generate specie based soley on political decisions, rather than sound fiscal ones, we'd have an economy so chaotic that nobody would invest in American dollars - which would have its own catestrophic consequences. The Fed has a vested interest in keeping the currency stable, valuable and adequately (though not over) supplied. This is exactly what Hamilton and other patriotic and wise macro-economic thinkers intended.
This is just one example of the dubious quality of Rothbard's arguments. Certainly one can make an occasionally persuasive case for more openness in the machinations of the Fed, but to blame the (politically) independent fiduciary oversight body for keeping money out of the hands of common Americans is simply wrong-headed.
Just because Rothbard had credentials as an economist, doesn't make him a clear or correct thinker.
Read this book if you desire an easy opportunity to shred a simplistic argument. Otherwise, don't waste your time.
Fed up with The Fed.......2007-07-02
There are few subjects I find more boring than economics and for that reason, certain sections of this book had me struggling to keep focus. With that said, this was a sort of economics/history book with Rothbard detailing first, the history of money and the banking system itself, and then the shadowy rise of the monolithic Federal Reserve Bank. The history aspect of the book salvaged its enjoyability factor, at least for me. My short attention span aside, this was certainly an educational read.
The creation of "The Fed" was a result of a decades long movement by a group of enormously powerful bankers and tycoons such as J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller and Paul Warburg (among others) to create a central bank in the US. They claimed that this was a safeguard for the nation's economy, but Rothbard argues convincingly that these bankers true motive was nothing more than consolidation of power over the nation's wealth. Besides that, Rothbard argues that not only is the Fed not a safeguard for the economy, but it is actually the CAUSE of much of our economy's woes. He cites such practices as fractional reserve banking (which is essentially legal counterfeiting) and argues how this is responsible for massive inflation and erratic "boom and bust" cycles. He calls for the dissolution of the Fed and a return to the gold standard. With my aforementioned ignorance of economics, I cannot judge the accuracy of Rothbard's arguments, but I can say that this is a well-written and well-argued Case Against the Fed. Four stars.
Preposterous!.......2007-04-19
The underlying theme in this pamphlet by Murray Rothbard of the Australian School of Economics, is that the Federal Resereve should be abolished and we should return to a gold standard.
Clearly this so-called economist has overlooked two very important things...
1. Without the Federal Reserve, how would Citi et al and JP Morgan et al make any money?
2. What would stop the so called "free market" from being exploited by greedy miners who would inflate the production & supply of gold so quickly that we would experience hyperinflation and a complete breakdown of the currency?
Verdict: Poorly thought out arguments Mr Rothbard.
One of the most amazing books I've ever read.......2007-03-03
I bought this book after listening to two friends arguing about the Federal Reserve and, having no economics background at all, realizing that I didn't understand anything they were talking about. For the most part, it is clearly explained in a way an economics lay-person such as my self can follow. I wish this book had been recommended to me as part of my high school economics class, in fact, had more people read this book, this nation would not be in the dire situation it is facing.
The departure of law.......2007-01-04
This book very logically laid out the case for how our law hs been corrupted by the bankers use of reserve ratios and ponzi schemes. A very good book and I highly recommend it. One does not know chaos until there is bank run and if the banking industry operated with honesty and integrity instead of principles based on lying and theft then there would not be bank runs.
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