货币崛起

terribly biased guy, but some interesting history

Ep 1

Spinards mined too much silver in South America -- caused inflation

money is only worth what other people would give in exchange of it.

Italy - first introduced arabic numbers over roman numbers

Venice

- Jews were the first bankers (the word bank came from the Italian name bench, where the lenders would sit on) because Old Testement allows interest; Christians limited by anti-usury law

Florence -

Mecidi - before 1390, gang; commercial bills for financing foreign bills - no interest, but charge commission for conversion of currency, if money lent in advance (credit), larger commission, lenders receive interest. Decentralized into independent partnerships, expanding to Venice, and Rome. Diverse portfolio -->political power

Ep 2

Bond market - created to fund war in 15th century

Amsterdam 1590s

-world's first central bank

- invention of the company -Asian spice trading

Stock Market - John Law, a Scottish treasurer for French King, first financial crash in history, The Mississipi Company, caused French Revolution - issued paper money (over printing), invention of the world "millionaire"

Early 18th century

Rothchild

- Natahn Rothchild Frankfurt ghetto to London;

-made money from bond market;

-during British war against Napoleon, Rothchild family in charge of converting bond money to gold to send to the army

-advantage: family members at all key financial centers in Europe

- decided to sit out of American Civil War and not buy bonds from the south

Ep 3 -

Insurance invented in Scotland

first welfare state - Japan 1946

1970s - Milton Freeman, U Chicago, dismantled welfare - the quantity theory of money

Chicago graduate - dismantled welfare state in Chile and started retirement funds

hedge fund

- originated in agriculture, sellers and buyers agreeing on price when seeds are planted- options, derivatives

- George Soros: quantum fund, shorting; bet $10B on shorting the pound in 1992

Ep 4

real estates

1930s - Ford massacre in Dearborn; government underwrote mortgages to encourage property ownership of whites, against socialism ideals, racial descriminaton against black community

what an end -

1914 UK and Germany in similiar trading positions as XX and XX today

the really big crises come just seldom enough to be beyond the living memory of the people who run today's companies, banks, and funds.