Nononsense the money crisis : how bankers have grabbed our money - and how we can get it back

Bankers and speculators build castles in the air but when they come crashing down ordinary people have to pick up the tab. How we've made such a mess of our money system is explained, from the earliest banks right through to "collateralized debt obligations." The author suggests the framework for a fairer financial world: the practical ideas, required regulations, and real-life examples. **Peter Stalker** is a former co-editor of the __New Internationalist__ who now works as a consultant to a number of UN agencies. His books include __Workers without Frontiers: The Impact of Globalization on International Migration__ and the __No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration__. What exactly is money and what does it do? We might understand coins, notes and gold bars but do we understand credit default swaps and sovereign wealth funds? In responding to these questions with penetrating historical analysis and demystifying language, Peter Stalker exposes the flaws in the system that led to financial disaster. He reveals that this is not just a failure of banking, it is a crisis of money. A combination of deregulation, incompetence and greed have created the conditions for boom and bust. This concise book not only provides an understanding of these factors but also offers strategies for taking them out of the equation, so that governments can bring money back under control.-- Provided by Publisher Bankers and speculators build castles in the air but when they come crashing down ordinary people have to pick up the tab. How we've made such a mess of our money system is explained, from the earliest banks right through to "collateralized debt obligations." The author suggests the framework for a fairer financial world: the practical ideas, required regulations, and real-life examples. Peter Stalker is a former co-editor of the New Internationalist who now works as a consultant to a number of UN agencies. His books include Workers without Frontiers: The Impact of Globalization on International Migration and the No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration . A history of money, an examination of what's gone wrong and the ideas which would put people back in charge