Episodes

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...

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...

“In the case of Putin we are in this very dangerous place. We have reacted so aggressively and moved so far, so fast that he is personally humiliated under anything other than absolute victory in Ukraine. That makes it impossible for him to back down. It’s a very dangerous negotiating position to have put yourself into.” In the latest New Money Review podcast, Mike Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, discusses geopolitics, game theory, market structure and risk. Green believe...

“In the case of Putin we are in this very dangerous place. We have reacted so aggressively and moved so far, so fast that he is personally humiliated under anything other than absolute victory in Ukraine. That makes it impossible for him to back down. It’s a very dangerous negotiating position to have put yourself into.” In the latest New Money Review podcast, Mike Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, discusses geopolitics, game theory, market structure and risk. Green believe...

“In the case of Putin we are in this very dangerous place. We have reacted so aggressively and moved so far, so fast that he is personally humiliated under anything other than absolute victory in Ukraine. That makes it impossible for him to back down. It’s a very dangerous negotiating position to have put yourself into.” In the latest New Money Review podcast, Mike Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, discusses geopolitics, game theory, market structure and risk. Green believe...

Over the last decade India has undertaken arguably the most ambitious digitisation programme of any country in the world. Its so-called ‘India stack’—a public digital infrastructure that allows governments, businesses, start-ups and developers to interact—is the largest open software platform of its kind. Nearly all of India’s 1.4bn citizens are now included in a biometric digital identity system, which is linked to a real-time payments network and a credential management platform. India’s pa...

Over the last decade India has undertaken arguably the most ambitious digitisation programme of any country in the world. Its so-called ‘India stack’—a public digital infrastructure that allows governments, businesses, start-ups and developers to interact—is the largest open software platform of its kind. Nearly all of India’s 1.4bn citizens are now included in a biometric digital identity system, which is linked to a real-time payments network and a credential management platform. India’s pa...

Over the last decade India has undertaken arguably the most ambitious digitisation programme of any country in the world. Its so-called ‘India stack’—a public digital infrastructure that allows governments, businesses, start-ups and developers to interact—is the largest open software platform of its kind. Nearly all of India’s 1.4bn citizens are now included in a biometric digital identity system, which is linked to a real-time payments network and a credential management platform. India’s pa...

In the last decade we’ve seen four massive leaks of data from offshore financial centres: the Panama, Paradise and Pandora papers and the FinCEN files. No-one knows who leaked this information. But the data made one thing crystal-clear: the world’s rich and powerful, including its wealthiest criminals, love using shell companies to hide their assets. And it’s not just a few small, sunny Caribbean or Pacific islands that make these financial flows possible. It’s also corporate vehicles in plac...

In the last decade we’ve seen four massive leaks of data from offshore financial centres: the Panama, Paradise and Pandora papers and the FinCEN files. No-one knows who leaked this information. But the data made one thing crystal-clear: the world’s rich and powerful, including its wealthiest criminals, love using shell companies to hide their assets. And it’s not just a few small, sunny Caribbean or Pacific islands that make these financial flows possible. It’s also corporate vehicles in plac...

In the last decade we’ve seen four massive leaks of data from offshore financial centres: the Panama, Paradise and Pandora papers and the FinCEN files. No-one knows who leaked this information. But the data made one thing crystal-clear: the world’s rich and powerful, including its wealthiest criminals, love using shell companies to hide their assets. And it’s not just a few small, sunny Caribbean or Pacific islands that make these financial flows possible. It’s also corporate vehicles in plac...

In the latest New Money Review podcast, technologist Martin Walker tells Paul Amery how the cryptocurrency bubble has wasted huge amounts of capital and is only one of several interconnected manias. By contrast with the dot.com bubble of 1999/2000, says Walker, little of use may be left behind from the current irrational exuberance. Here are some excerpts from the podcast: ‘Decentralisation’ in blockchain is meaningless “The word ‘decentralisation’ in the fintech and blockchain world is a ve...

In the latest New Money Review podcast, technologist Martin Walker tells Paul Amery how the cryptocurrency bubble has wasted huge amounts of capital and is only one of several interconnected manias. By contrast with the dot.com bubble of 1999/2000, says Walker, little of use may be left behind from the current irrational exuberance. Here are some excerpts from the podcast: ‘Decentralisation’ in blockchain is meaningless “The word ‘decentralisation’ in the fintech and blockchain world is a ve...

In the latest New Money Review podcast, technologist Martin Walker tells Paul Amery how the cryptocurrency bubble has wasted huge amounts of capital and is only one of several interconnected manias. By contrast with the dot.com bubble of 1999/2000, says Walker, little of use may be left behind from the current irrational exuberance. Here are some excerpts from the podcast: ‘Decentralisation’ in blockchain is meaningless “The word ‘decentralisation’ in the fintech and blockchain world is a ve...

In the latest New Money Review podcast, psychotherapist Tony Marini talks about the growing problem of addiction to cryptocurrency. Marini, a specialist in gambling addiction, works at the Castle Craig hospital in Scotland. In the podcast, he says he’s seen a sharp rise in cryptocurrency-related self-destructive behaviour since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic—a period during which many of us have been stuck at home in front of a computer screen. Marini explains how addiction to gambl...

In the latest New Money Review podcast, psychotherapist Tony Marini talks about the growing problem of addiction to cryptocurrency. Marini, a specialist in gambling addiction, works at the Castle Craig hospital in Scotland. In the podcast, he says he’s seen a sharp rise in cryptocurrency-related self-destructive behaviour since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic—a period during which many of us have been stuck at home in front of a computer screen. Marini explains how addiction to gambl...

In the latest New Money Review podcast, psychotherapist Tony Marini talks about the growing problem of addiction to cryptocurrency. Marini, a specialist in gambling addiction, works at the Castle Craig hospital in Scotland. In the podcast, he says he’s seen a sharp rise in cryptocurrency-related self-destructive behaviour since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic—a period during which many of us have been stuck at home in front of a computer screen. Marini explains how addiction to gambl...

A central bank policy mistake is likely to cause the next financial crisis, says Dan Awrey, my guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. “The combination of near-zero interest rates and the restructuring of the financial system around near-zero rates means that central bank policy surprises are likely to be the match that lights the fire,” says Awrey, a professor of law at Cornell University, where he specialises in financial regulation. Formerly a legal counsel to an invest...

A central bank policy mistake is likely to cause the next financial crisis, says Dan Awrey, my guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. “The combination of near-zero interest rates and the restructuring of the financial system around near-zero rates means that central bank policy surprises are likely to be the match that lights the fire,” says Awrey, a professor of law at Cornell University, where he specialises in financial regulation. Formerly a legal counsel to an invest...

A central bank policy mistake is likely to cause the next financial crisis, says Dan Awrey, my guest on the latest episode of the New Money Review podcast. “The combination of near-zero interest rates and the restructuring of the financial system around near-zero rates means that central bank policy surprises are likely to be the match that lights the fire,” says Awrey, a professor of law at Cornell University, where he specialises in financial regulation. Formerly a legal counsel to an invest...

Cryptocurrency is an experimental technology. But it’s also now a $2.5trn market with growing and increasingly complex linkages to the traditional financial system—whether through ETFs, the futures market, central clearing, repo or prime brokerage. So who’s in charge if things go wrong, as they inevitably will at some point? To answer that question, I invited Angela Walch, a professor of law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and a research associate at the Centre for Blockchain T...

Cryptocurrency is an experimental technology. But it’s also now a $2.5trn market with growing and increasingly complex linkages to the traditional financial system—whether through ETFs, the futures market, central clearing, repo or prime brokerage. So who’s in charge if things go wrong, as they inevitably will at some point? To answer that question, I invited Angela Walch, a professor of law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and a research associate at the Centre for Blockchain T...

Cryptocurrency is an experimental technology. But it’s also now a $2.5trn market with growing and increasingly complex linkages to the traditional financial system—whether through ETFs, the futures market, central clearing, repo or prime brokerage. So who’s in charge if things go wrong, as they inevitably will at some point? To answer that question, I invited Angela Walch, a professor of law at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and a research associate at the Centre for Blockchain T...

Stablecoins—digital currencies pegged to existing money, like the dollar, euro, pound or gold—are the hottest topic in finance. From crypto-market dollars like Tether and Circle to Facebook’s Diem project and tomorrow’s central bank digital currencies (CBDC), many stablecoins are staking a claim to be the payments medium of the future. But stablecoins are not a new idea, says Peter Wierts, a senior economist at the Dutch central bank, an associate professor at the Free University and our guest...