Niall Ferguson investigates the globalisation of the Western economy and the uncertain balance between the important component countries of China and the US.
How did finance become the realm of the masters of the universe? Through the rise of the bond market in Renaissance Italy. With the advent of bonds, war finance was transformed and spread to north-west Europe and across the Atlantic.
It sounded so simple: give state-owned assets to the people. After all, what better foundation for a property-owning democracy than a campaign of privatisation encompassing housing?
Life is a risky business – which is why people take out insurance. But faced with an unexpected disaster, the state has to step in.
Why do stock markets produce bubbles and busts? Professor Ferguson goes back to the origins of the joint stock company in Amsterdam and Paris.
Professor Ferguson explains the origins of credit and debt and why credit networks are indispensable to any civilization.