An “artfully presented [and] engaging” look at the insidious effects of financialization on our lives and politics by the author of Treasure Islands (The Boston Globe). How didthe banking sector grow from a supporter of business to the biggest business in the world? Financial journalist Nicholas Shaxson takes us on a terrifying journey through the world economy, exposing tax havens, monopolists, megabanks, private equity firms, Eurobond traders, lobbyists, and a menagerie of scoundrels quietly financializing our entire society, hurting both business and individuals. Shaxson shows how we got here, telling the story of how finance re-engineered the global economic order in the last half-century, with the aim not of creating wealth but extracting it from the underlying economy. Under the twin gospels of “national competitiveness” and “shareholder value,” megabanks and financialized corporations have provoked a race to the bottom between states to provide the most subsidized environment for big business, encouraged a brain drain into finance, fostered instability and inequality, and turned a blind eye to the spoils of organized crime. From Ireland to Iowa, he shows the insidious effects of financialization on our politics and on communities who were promised paradise but got poverty wages instead. We need a strong financial system—but when it grows too big it becomes a monster. The Finance Curse is the explosive story of how finance got a stranglehold on society, and reveals how we might release ourselves from its grasp. Revised with new chapters “[Discusses] corrupt financiers in London and New York City, geographically obscure tax havens, the bizarre realm of wealth managers in South Dakota, a ravaged newspaper in New Jersey, and a shattered farm economy in Iowa . . . A vivid demonstration of how corruption and greed have become the main organizing principles in the finance industry.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A brilliant and lucid new book” (John Lanchester, New York Times Magazine) about why paper money and digital currencies lie at the heart of many of the world’s most difficult problems—and their solutions In The Curse of Cash, acclaimed economist and bestselling author Kenneth Rogoff explores the past, present, and future of currency, showing why, contrary to conventional economic wisdom, the regulation of paper bills—and now digital currencies—lies at the heart some of the world’s most difficult problems, but also their potential solutions. When it comes to currency, history shows that the private sector often innovates but eventually the government regulates and appropriates. Using examples ranging from the history of standardized coinage to the development of paper money, Rogoff explains why the cryptocurrency boom will inevitably end with dominant digital currencies created and controlled by governments, regardless of what Bitcoin libertarians want. Advanced countries still urgently need to stem the global flood of large paper bills—the vast majority of which serve no legitimate purpose and only enable tax evasion and other crimes—but cryptocurrencies are like $100 bills on steroids. The Curse of Cash is filled with revealing insights about many of the most pressing issues facing monetary policymakers, from quantitative easing to alternative inflation targeting regimes. It also explains in detail why, if low interest rates persist, the best way to reinvigorate monetary policy is to implement fully effective and unconstrained negative interest rates. Provocative, engaging, and backed by compelling original arguments and evidence, The Curse of Cash has sparked widespread debate and its ideas have moved to the center of financial and policy discussions.

Self-storage entrepreneur Stanly Patterson is a womanizer who never thinks that his grass is green enough, that his car is fl ashy enough, or that his business is successful enough. His passion for his wife, Toya, is alive and well, but he just cant seem to stay faithful to her. As he carelessly moves from one affair to another, he has no idea that his deceitful ways are about to catch up with him. After his wifes cousin, Missy, catches him with one of his many flings and tells Toya, she promptly moves out, triggering Stanly to drown his sorrows in a bottle, crash his Mercedes in a ditch, and spend the night in county jail. Desperate to rekindle his marriage, Stanly books a trip to Jamaica with Toya, who is clueless that Stanly has a secret motiveto place a voodoo curse on her cousin, Missy. But after he visits a fly- by-night voodoo master, one bad thing after another happens to him; Stanly soon realizes that he is the victim of his own vengeful ways. The Curse of Money, Sex, and Life shares the tale of one mans dangerous journey to mend his ways and take his life backbefore it is too late.

You might have been told differently, but most economies today are never actually economically stable. Under current monetary regimes, financial stability is only a temporary phenomenon as economies around the world are in fact inherently unstable by design. Presently, this is the case more so than perhaps ever before. In "Money Cycles", the curse of an elastic money supply is explained in detail and its effects on economic progress in general and the business cycle and stock market valuations in particular are exposed. The author presents a comprehensive account of how the banking system creates money and expands the quantity of money, how you can compile accurate and relevant money supply aggregates, and how the money cycle is the main determinant of the business cycle. In the final part of the book, the Austrian theory of the business cycle is described and applied to demonstrate how the money cycle determines stock market booms and the crashes that must follow.

Everyone struggles with money at some point in their lives. Sometimes the problems run so deep that people mistakenly believe that "Money is the root of all evil." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Money is amoral--it is neither moral nor immoral. "The love of money," however, "is the root of all kinds of evil." Hopefully you are free, or will find financial freedom through the pages of this book. We wrote with three purposes in mind: To provide an understanding of money and its value as a medium for exchanging time and energy between individuals. To equip the reader with tools to get out of debt, build a nest egg, and operate a realistic budget with it roots in faith toward God. To provide a spiritual and philosophical basis for achieving true financial freedom.

Learn how to live the life you want, not just the life you can afford in this highly engaging, step-by-step guide to winning at personal finance! Managing your money is like going to the dentist or standing in line at the DMV. Nobody wants to do it, but at some point, it's inevitable: you need to clean your teeth, renew your license, and manage your personal finances like a grown-up. Whether you're struggling to pay off student loan debt, ready to stop living paycheck to paycheck, or have finally accepted that your Beanie Baby collection will never pay off, tackling your finances may seem immensely intimidating. But it doesn't have to be. In fact, by approaching it as a game--or something that requires you to set clear goals, as well as face challenges you must "beat"--personal finance can not only be easy to understand, but it can also be fun! In Get Money, personal finance expert Kristin Wong shows you the exact steps to getting more money in your pocket without letting it rule your life. Through a series of challenges designed to boost your personal finance I.Q., interviews with other leading financial experts, and exercises tailored to help you achieve even your biggest goals, you'll learn valuable skills such as: Building a budget that (gasp) actually works Super-charging a debt payoff plan How to strategically hack your credit score Negotiating like a shark (or at least a piranha) Side-hustling to speed up your money goals Starting a lazy investment portfolio...and many more! Simply put, with this gamified guide to personal finance, you'll no longer stress about understanding how your finances work--you'll finally "get" money.

The great monopoly in this country is money. So long as that exists, our old variety and individual energy of development are out of the question. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit.