Episodes

By keeping interest rates near zero for over a decade, central banks have created profound economic insecurity and financial fragility. That’s the argument of financial historian Edward Chancellor, guest on the latest New Money Review podcast. Chancellor, author of a new book called ‘the Price of Time’, says that extremely low interest rates have caused unsustainable asset price inflation, including the recent bubbles in cryptocurrency and tech stocks. And near-zero rates, says Chancellor, ar...

Two events in the last fifteen years have fundamentally altered the way the financial system operates—and neither was planned by global policymakers. The great crash of 2008 stopped banks from extending loans to counterparties without taking any security in return. Henceforth, large credits would require collateral to be posted by the borrower. And cryptocurrencies have spawned a new form of digital money—the stablecoin—that threatens to torpedo central banks’ control of the monetary system. ...

“Competition is for losers,” Paypal founder, early Facebook investor and bitcoin enthusiast Peter Thiel once said. But now the monopoly power of the big tech firms has outgrown even Thiel’s wildest dreams. In the latest New Money Review podcast, I ask Vili Lehdonvirta, professor of economic sociology and digital social research at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, whether we can loosen the tech platforms’ grip on money and power. Lehdonvirta is the author of a new book, “Cl...

“Competition is for losers,” Paypal founder, early Facebook investor and bitcoin enthusiast Peter Thiel once said. But now the monopoly power of the big tech firms has outgrown even Thiel’s wildest dreams. In the latest New Money Review podcast, I ask Vili Lehdonvirta, professor of economic sociology and digital social research at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, whether we can loosen the tech platforms’ grip on money and power. Lehdonvirta is the author of a new book, “Cl...

“Competition is for losers,” Paypal founder, early Facebook investor and bitcoin enthusiast Peter Thiel once said. But now the monopoly power of the big tech firms has outgrown even Thiel’s wildest dreams. In the latest New Money Review podcast, I ask Vili Lehdonvirta, professor of economic sociology and digital social research at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, whether we can loosen the tech platforms’ grip on money and power. Lehdonvirta is the author of a new book, “Cl...

Cryptocurrency billionaires are gaining a political foothold in countries rich and poor. Their influence now extends into governments, legislatures, charities and educational establishments around the world. In the US, cryptocurrency businesses’ lobbying power now exceeds that of the big tech, pharma and defence sectors, traditionally among the biggest contributors to politicians and their parties. And crypto promoters are finding a ready audience in some of the world’s most deprived and war-...

Cryptocurrency billionaires are gaining a political foothold in countries rich and poor. Their influence now extends into governments, legislatures, charities and educational establishments around the world. In the US, cryptocurrency businesses’ lobbying power now exceeds that of the big tech, pharma and defence sectors, traditionally among the biggest contributors to politicians and their parties. And crypto promoters are finding a ready audience in some of the world’s most deprived and war-...

Cryptocurrency billionaires are gaining a political foothold in countries rich and poor. Their influence now extends into governments, legislatures, charities and educational establishments around the world. In the US, cryptocurrency businesses’ lobbying power now exceeds that of the big tech, pharma and defence sectors, traditionally among the biggest contributors to politicians and their parties. And crypto promoters are finding a ready audience in some of the world’s most deprived and war-...

There’s a rising superpower in the world of money—a country that’s cut off from the global financial network, but which is playing an increasingly prominent and disruptive role within it. Though the country denies it, researchers are almost certain that over the last three decades, North Korea has been behind some of the most audacious and brazen frauds in history. These have involved counterfeiting, theft, hacking, bank raids, ransomware and cyber-attacks. The attacks have been planned well i...

There’s a rising superpower in the world of money—a country that’s cut off from the global financial network, but which is playing an increasingly prominent and disruptive role within it. Though the country denies it, researchers are almost certain that over the last three decades, North Korea has been behind some of the most audacious and brazen frauds in history. These have involved counterfeiting, theft, hacking, bank raids, ransomware and cyber-attacks. The attacks have been planned well i...

There’s a rising superpower in the world of money—a country that’s cut off from the global financial network, but which is playing an increasingly prominent and disruptive role within it. Though the country denies it, researchers are almost certain that over the last three decades, North Korea has been behind some of the most audacious and brazen frauds in history. These have involved counterfeiting, theft, hacking, bank raids, ransomware and cyber-attacks. The attacks have been planned well i...

Record temperatures, droughts, war, COVID, bans on movement and meeting…it’s been a witches’ brew of events. Is nature telling us that humans have overburdened the planet? Not yet, says Amlan Roy, author of “Demographics Unravelled” and our guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. The global population can still grow further without triggering more damage, says Roy: technological advances and better education could let us add 2bn more humans by 2050, he argues. The study o...

Record temperatures, droughts, war, COVID, bans on movement and meeting…it’s been a witches’ brew of events. Is nature telling us that humans have overburdened the planet? Not yet, says Amlan Roy, author of “Demographics Unravelled” and our guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. The global population can still grow further without triggering more damage, says Roy: technological advances and better education could let us add 2bn more humans by 2050, he argues. The study o...

Record temperatures, droughts, war, COVID, bans on movement and meeting…it’s been a witches’ brew of events. Is nature telling us that humans have overburdened the planet? Not yet, says Amlan Roy, author of “Demographics Unravelled” and our guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. The global population can still grow further without triggering more damage, says Roy: technological advances and better education could let us add 2bn more humans by 2050, he argues. The study o...

Whoever dominates the world’s energy markets rules global politics. Coal fuelled the expansion of the British empire. Control over oil flows helped the US dictate the settlement after World War 2. Now we’re entering a more turbulent period. The climate crisis is upon us, meaning we have to slow—even cut—greenhouse gas emissions. This year, Vladimir Putin’s weaponisation of energy supplies has raised the stakes dramatically. But as we race to replace oil, gas and coal with renewable energy tec...

Whoever dominates the world’s energy markets rules global politics. Coal fuelled the expansion of the British empire. Control over oil flows helped the US dictate the settlement after World War 2. Now we’re entering a more turbulent period. The climate crisis is upon us, meaning we have to slow—even cut—greenhouse gas emissions. This year, Vladimir Putin’s weaponisation of energy supplies has raised the stakes dramatically. But as we race to replace oil, gas and coal with renewable energy tec...

Whoever dominates the world’s energy markets rules global politics. Coal fuelled the expansion of the British empire. Control over oil flows helped the US dictate the settlement after World War 2. Now we’re entering a more turbulent period. The climate crisis is upon us, meaning we have to slow—even cut—greenhouse gas emissions. This year, Vladimir Putin’s weaponisation of energy supplies has raised the stakes dramatically. But as we race to replace oil, gas and coal with renewable energy tec...

Take any story in the daily business news and there’s likely to be a securities finance angle to it, says Roy Zimmerhansl, my guest in the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. Under his original plan to buy Twitter, Elon Musk, for example, was supposed to pledge Tesla shares worth $62.5bn as part of a margin loan. The debt was to be secured by that Tesla stock, which could be seized by the lenders in the case of default. Musk is now trying to back out of the deal. But such repurchas...

Take any story in the daily business news and there’s likely to be a securities finance angle to it, says Roy Zimmerhansl, my guest in the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. Under his original plan to buy Twitter, Elon Musk, for example, was supposed to pledge Tesla shares worth $62.5bn as part of a margin loan. The debt was to be secured by that Tesla stock, which could be seized by the lenders in the case of default. Musk is now trying to back out of the deal. But such repurchas...

Take any story in the daily business news and there’s likely to be a securities finance angle to it, says Roy Zimmerhansl, my guest in the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. Under his original plan to buy Twitter, Elon Musk, for example, was supposed to pledge Tesla shares worth $62.5bn as part of a margin loan. The debt was to be secured by that Tesla stock, which could be seized by the lenders in the case of default. Musk is now trying to back out of the deal. But such repurchas...

In 2008, a few obscure three-letter financial products—MBS, ABS, CDOs and SIVs—set off the biggest financial crisis in history. Now, could a new alphabet soup of DAOs, NFTs, Dapps, DMMs and DEXes pose similar risks to financial stability? Yes, says Hilary Allen, our guest on the latest New Money Review podcast. Allen is a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, where she teaches financial regulation. The latest acronyms—for decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs)...

In 2008, a few obscure three-letter financial products—MBS, ABS, CDOs and SIVs—set off the biggest financial crisis in history. Now, could a new alphabet soup of DAOs, NFTs, Dapps, DMMs and DEXes pose similar risks to financial stability? Yes, says Hilary Allen, our guest on the latest New Money Review podcast. Allen is a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, where she teaches financial regulation. The latest acronyms—for decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs)...

In 2008, a few obscure three-letter financial products—MBS, ABS, CDOs and SIVs—set off the biggest financial crisis in history. Now, could a new alphabet soup of DAOs, NFTs, Dapps, DMMs and DEXes pose similar risks to financial stability? Yes, says Hilary Allen, our guest on the latest New Money Review podcast. Allen is a professor at the American University Washington College of Law, where she teaches financial regulation. The latest acronyms—for decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs)...

On 28 February the US, EU and UK froze most of the Russian central bank’s $630bn foreign currency reserves, responding to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. In the words of the UK government, the freeze aimed “to prevent the central bank of Russia from deploying its foreign reserves in ways that undermine the impact of sanctions imposed by us and our allies”. But around 20 percent of the CBR’s reserves—the portion held in gold—could not be touched by sanctions. That’s because Russia’s gold is...