City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

The ascent of money, written & presented by Niall Ferguson; produced by Melanie Fall; directed by Adrian Pennink

eng

The ascent of money

written & presented by Niall Ferguson; produced by Melanie Fall; directed by Adrian Pennink

Professor Niall Ferguson analyses the story of money and the rise of global finance : 1. Dreams of avarice : looks at the origins of banking and argues that the evolution of credit and debt was crucial in the rise of civilisation, from ancient Babylon to modern-day America ------ 2. Human Bondage : looks at the ascent of the bond market, from its earliest incarnation in Renaissance Italy and its role in creating powerful, rich families -------- 3. Blowing Bubbles : analyses the story of money and the rise of global finance. Ferguson goes back to the orgins of the joint stock company in Amsterdam and Paris and looks at new theories of behavioural finance ------- 4. Risky Business : Niall travels to New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina, to ask why the free market cannot provide adequate protection against catastrophe. His quest for an answer takes him back to the origins of modern insurance in the early 19th century and to the birth of the welfare state in post-WWII Japan ------- 5. Safe as Houses : Property is the English speaking world's favourite form of investment. Yet the sub-prime mortgage crisis that began in 2007 has shown that property prices can go down as well as up. Niall explains how the unintended consequence of 'securitising' mortgages was a global financial crisis -------- 6. Chimerica : Ferguson takes a look at the globalisation of Western financial institutions in the 19th century and compares this to the relationship between the emerging Chinese market and the United States today

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