Ties That Bind

The complex structure of modern capital markets is increasingly the cause of financial crises. External shocks like a decline in housing prices are intensified as they move through the convoluted chains of dealings that link market participants. Concentration of trading among a small group of dealers only heightens the many More…

The Great Unwind

In “The Arabian Nights,” the beautiful princess Scheherazade buys one day of life at a time by recounting fantastic fables that entrance the king, who has condemned her to die. Investors and traders are currently telling each other fairy tales to buy one day at a time to stave off More…

Dollar’s Dominance Wanes

Part 1: U.S. Failing to Defend Dollar

The U.S. national debt is rapidly rising. If Congress signs off on the Bush administration’s $700-billion rescue plan for Wall Street’s troubled financial markets, the debt ceiling will have to be raised to $11.3 trillion. The debt was $9.4 trillion in March. More…

U.S. Failing to Defend Dollar’s Fall

On Oct. 30, 1938, the weekly radio program Mercury Theatre aired “The War of the Worlds.” As adapted from H.G. Welles’ novel and directed by Orson Welles, the effect was stunning. The broadcast’s first half was presented as a series of dramatic news bulletins about a Martian invasion. Many More…