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Alchemists of Loss: How Modern Finance and Government Intervention Crashed the Financial System
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.
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.
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 27, 2010
About the author
Kevin Dowd
40 books7 followersKevin Dowd is an economist with research interests in private money and free banking, monetary and macro economics, financial risk measurement and management, risk disclosure, political economy and policy analysis, pensions and mortality modelling. He is currently Professor of Finance and Economics at Durham University Business School and a partner in Cobden Partners based in London.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 18, 2018
Scathing critique of modern financial system
Review of money, banking and financial system with an emphasis on problems with current system. Highly critical of modern financial system. The book is a little light on justification and although i intuitively agree in many places, im left with the feeling that opponents could combat a lot of these points fairly easily. I would have especially liked further explanation of why the “first best solution” of non-government intervention would lead to the stable and healthy system that the authors present.
Review of money, banking and financial system with an emphasis on problems with current system. Highly critical of modern financial system. The book is a little light on justification and although i intuitively agree in many places, im left with the feeling that opponents could combat a lot of these points fairly easily. I would have especially liked further explanation of why the “first best solution” of non-government intervention would lead to the stable and healthy system that the authors present.
December 8, 2010
Good macro level explanation of the financial crisis.
August 15, 2011
Excellent expaination of why our economy has collapsed. Blames everyone from you and me to John Maynard Keynes and our fine Government. Everyone that votes should be required to read this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews