Central Bank Conmen


Book Description

Where does money come from? This provocative question lies at the heart of a compelling narrative that delves into the intricate world of finance and governance. The book exposes the absolute monopoly held by governments in the creation of money, a process often shrouded in mystery and misconception. It reveals how governments, regardless of their form – be it empires, kingdoms, democracies, dictatorships, or other structures – have historically manipulated the money creation process. The narrative unfolds to show how governments, under the guise of independence, instruct central banks to generate money, thereby profiting the government at the expense of its citizens. This deception is likened to historical practices where Kings and Emperors debased precious metal coins for personal gain. In today’s digital age, the technique has evolved, but the essence remains the same: governments create money digitally and introduce it as an unrepayable debt, effectively siphoning value and wealth from the populace. This insightful book not only uncovers the hidden mechanics of monetary systems but also sheds light on the real losers in this game: everyday individuals like you and me. It’s a revealing exploration of how financial systems and governmental policies intertwine, impacting the wealth and well-being of global citizens.




Fraud


Book Description

A comprehensive history of fraud in America, from the early nineteenth century to the subprime mortgage crisis In America, fraud has always been a key feature of business, and the national worship of entrepreneurial freedom complicates the task of distinguishing salesmanship from deceit. In this sweeping narrative, Edward Balleisen traces the history of fraud in America—and the evolving efforts to combat it—from the age of P. T. Barnum through the eras of Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff. This unprecedented account describes the slow, piecemeal construction of modern institutions to protect consumers and investors—from the Gilded Age through the New Deal and the Great Society. It concludes with the more recent era of deregulation, which has brought with it a spate of costly frauds, including corporate accounting scandals and the mortgage-marketing debacle. By tracing how Americans have struggled to foster a vibrant economy without encouraging a corrosive level of cheating, Fraud reminds us that American capitalism rests on an uneasy foundation of social trust.




My Billion Dollar Education


Book Description

The true untold story of a rogue trader, whose decision to right a wrong ignited a series of political maneuvering by American and Japanese officials, leading to the expulsion of a major Japanese bank from the U.S. Toshihide Iguchi, formerly an Executive VP and U.S. Government Bond trader at Daiwa Bank's New York Branch, was responsible for $1.1 billion in unauthorized trading losses accumulated over a period of 12 years beginning in 1983. At 18, Toshihide Iguchi came to the U.S. with high hopes. Graduating from college in Missouri, marrying a St. Louis girl, and landing a promising job at Daiwa Bank in New York, he was ready to embark on his American dream. Unbeknownst to him, a storm of unprecedented financial deregulation on both sides of the Pacific was about to rage... Twelve years later, he found himself in the maximum security ward of a Manhattan jail, surrounded by Arab terrorists and a Mafia boss. The author looks back on his psychological struggles and redemption, which gave him valuable insight in helping others to prevent future billion dollar trading losses, tying in more recent rogue trading cases, discussing common misconceptions of rogue trading as well as operational risks that continue to exist in financial institutions today.




A Nation of Counterfeiters


Book Description

Prior to the Civil War, the United States did not have a single, national currency. Counterfeiters flourished amid this anarchy, putting vast quantities of bogus bills into circulation. Their success, Mihm reveals, is more than an entertaining tale of criminal enterprise: it is the story of the rise of a country defined by freewheeling capitalism and little government control. Mihm shows how eventually the older monetary system was dismantled, along with the counterfeit economy it sustained.




Legal Aspects of Central Bank Digital Currency: Central Bank and Monetary Law Considerations


Book Description

This paper analyzes the legal foundations of central bank digital currency (CBDC) under central bank and monetary law. Absent strong legal foundations, the issuance of CBDC poses legal, financial and reputational risks for central banks. While the appropriate design of the legal framework will up to a degree depend on the design features of the CBDC, some general conclusions can be made. First, most central bank laws do not currently authorize the issuance of CBDC to the general public. Second, from a monetary law perspective, it is not evident that “currency” status can be attributed to CBDC. While the central bank law issue can be solved through rather straithforward law reform, the monetary law issue poses fundmental legal policy challenges.




The Con Men


Book Description

This ethnography of NYC’s scammers presents “a revealing portrait of a critical but little known element of city life…timely, incisive, and poignant” (Elijah Anderson, author of Code of the Street). This vivid account of hustling in New York City explores the sociological reasons why con artists play their game and the psychological tricks they use to win it. Sociologists Terry Williams and Trevor B. Milton spent years with New York con artists to uncover their secrets. The result is an unprecedented view into how con games operate, whether in back alleys and side streets or in police precincts and Wall Street boiler rooms. Whether it's selling bootleg goods, playing the numbers, squatting rent-free, scamming tourists with bogus stories, selling knockoffs on Canal Street, or crafting Ponzi schemes, con artists use verbal persuasion, physical misdirection, and sheer charm to convince others to do what they want. Williams and Milton examine this act of performance art and find meaning in its methods. Through their sophisticated exploration of the personal experiences and influences that create a successful hustler, they build a portrait of unusual emotional and psychological depth. This engaging ethnography demonstrates how the city's unique urban and social architecture lends itself to the perfect con.




Central Bank Independence


Book Description

In December 1999, prior to the forming of a Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law, an international symposium entitled Central Bank Independence was held at the Department of Law at Stockholm University in co-operation with the Swedish Central Bank (The Riksbank) and Queen Mary and Westfield College, London University. The participants were principally political, economic and legal specialists in the field, all with considerable international experience. This led to the topic being examined in detail from many different perspectives. This publication includes contributions by the participants and contains many important facts for those readers who wish to study and understand the different consequences of the yielding of control over financial policymaking by the traditional political organisations to a body of experts. For readers in some countries, who realise that the subject will revolutionise traditional Constitutional and Administrative Law, the topic and therefore this publication, cannot be ignored.




Central Bank Governance and the Role of Nonfinancial Risk Management


Book Description

This paper argues that nonfinancial risk management is an essential element of good governance of central banks. It provides a funnelled analysis, on the basis of selected literature, by (i) presenting an outline of central bank governance in general; (ii) zooming in on internal governance and organization issues of central banks; (iii) highlighting the main issues with nonfinancial risk management; and (iv) ending with recommendations for future work. It shows how attention for nonfinancial risk management has been growing, and how this has amplified the call for better governance of central banks. It stresses that in the area of nonfinancial risk management there are no crucial differences between commercial and central banks: both have people, processes, procedures, and structures. It highlights policy areas to be explored.




An Emerging Africa in the Age of Globalisation


Book Description

The book is very policy-oriented and fills an important gap in the literature on policies related specifically to the dialogue of civilisation in a globalized world. Deals with cross-cutting issues in economic integration, conflict management, human rights and sustainable development. Addresses challenges such as religious extremism, environmental problems, and political unrest.




Big Money Crime


Book Description

An in-depth scrutiny into the American savings and loan financial crisis in the 1980s. The authors come to conclusions about the deliberate nature of this financial fraud and the leniency of the criminal justice system on these 'Gucci-clad white-collar criminals'.